Pineapple Express: Two Hats Are Better Than One?

I rented Pineapple Express with close to no expectations and really because there was only one copy left at Blockbuster. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen what it looks like when a movie is newly released at Bb, but the wall of row by row by row of empty spaces where multiple copies of the newly released DVD used to be is marvelous. (And ultimately disappointing if you are going specifically for that movie.)

The Pineapple Express (written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg – who penned Superbad – directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Judd Apatow) is newly released and hotly rented, except for one lone copy tonight at my local Bb. In an unusual act of fierce competition, I spotted this fluke and literally stepped in front of someone to pick up the movie. Plus it seemed okay to rent it. I heart Seth Rogen. And lots of people want to have James Franco’s babies.

The reviews I’d heard from people were varied. I didn’t read about it on The Internets, one friend thought it would probably be funniest stoned and another went to the theater stoned.

So not really constructive advice.

Here's a summary from IMDb:

Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city's most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him--and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they're not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. All aboard the Pineapple Express. Written by Anonymous

??????? Yeah.

But I enjoyed it. I don’t regret the time I spent watching it. But there were obvious things missing and an ongoing tug-of-war to jibe comedy and violence that ended up clashing in too many places. The story was so weird. but that was admitted in several interviews I read so it made it easier to swallow. (Maybe that’s also the brilliance of even Apatow’s flops—a commitment to not taking it too seriously—from actor to producer.) I was a bit puzzled by the pace: ups, downs and periods of chaos, all the while quipping one-liners and improvisation.

Apparently Apatow’s inspiration was Brad Pitt's character in True Romance, which is KB’s favorite movie and I watched it years ago when we first met. It’s bad ass though I don’t even remember Brad Pitt. Was he the guy totally strung out with a suitcase of coke? I also might be making that up. I think Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were reluctant at first to write the screenplay, believing a stoner action comedy was just too out there. But I guess they figured with the right people and budget, it could be really good.

Key Points:

I have to admit I was busy during the film but I figured it was okay to be half-watching. Not too far into the movie, however, this was all I knew: plot jokes plot...SCREAMING CHAOS...jokes plot jokes...CHAOS SCREAMING....the scenes escalated to chaos so quickly it seemed the actors were more aware of the imminent violence than me. (It turns out the chaos still came out of nowhere even when I decided to pay close attention.)

Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson stole the show. They play hitmen for the drug dealer that is after Rogen and Franco (I know. SO. effing weird.) and their chemistry is superb. Both seem awkward in their roles as killers (until a surprising scene where Corrigan shoots someone because he was tired of everyone talking). Corrigan spends the film anxious to get home to his wife and Robinson remains jealous and critical of that...I promise it's much more hilarious than the completely unfunny way I just described it.

I like James Franco in a comedic role (notably Freaks and Geeks), though his wig made it hard to appreciate his sexyface. He seemed comfortable improvising with Seth Rogen and proved impeccable timing.

Seth Rogen played Seth Rogen (which means still I love him). I wonder if it’s just his distinctive laugh that many of his characters seem the same? Or it could be the improv. It brings out his own voice and therefore he actually does play himself. Not to mention many of his films were also written by him! So when I think about variation in his roles, it just takes some weeding through the improv to see that each character is different.

There was a lot of pot humor I didn’t understand.

Blood with the violence would have made it awesome but clearly their low budget hurt the violence scenes. (Although Quentin Tarantino always operates on a low budget.)

Seth Rogen's character is dating a girl in high school. Ridiculous and not even plot-necessary. Except it did allow for a sweet scene with Ed Begley shooting at Seth Rogen and James Franco and threatening to take them outside and "fuck them in the street".

I felt like this movie would have worked better as an action movie with really good jokes because the inadequacy of the violence was distracting. I hate being taken away from a movie. Like when an actor breaks character enough that I notice. Or there is something so illogical. And that kept happening. Either the actors didn't play the scenes seriously enough (or they were supposed to be high?) or there wasn't enough camera action. Whatever it was, I kept getting removed from the film.

So Pineapple Express is a comedy that takes its action scenes too seriously. If the scenes were done in an over the top way, adding to the comedy, that would have worked better. Or if the scenes were done on such a high budget, with room allowed for lots of blood and special effects, along with the comedy and ridiculous storyline, it would have been awesome. There was a way to make this movie work with both hats on, but unfortunately the lack of budget made it fall short.

Mad Men: Disc 1

MAD MEN

“A term coined in the late 1950s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue.”

(...pause...)

“They coined it.”

So begins the pilot episode of Mad Men.

I’ve been anxious to watch since the buzz first hit the blogger waves. But I would turn on AMC (yeah…AMC…wtf??) and get so wrapped up in the beautiful hair and clothing that 15 minutes would pass and all I could remember was how deep red the actress marrying Fred Armisen’s dress was. Then came the Golden Globes and, like Arrested Development before it, I felt left out of a really special club. (Plus with all the Sopranos mojo, it's gotta be good.)

Netflix is my friend and I’ve already watched the first disc. (I canceled my cable so somehow now marathon t.v. on DVD is more admittable.)

The setting is early 1960s New York City at an ad agency on Madison Avenue. The show follows Don Draper and the lives of his co-workers, family, friends (and surprisingly high number of mistresses) with the world around them on the brink of change.

There was ace set-up to hook me: damaged marriages with under-acknowledged wives, secret lovers, inappropriate workplace harassment and a cigarette campaign featuring white hair and Evilness.

And while I’m sure that with hair that stylized and clothes that trendy, all these men and women talked more like Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn than Average Joe, I really like them all. My heart broke for the sadness on the face of the housewife who admits she’s unhappy and burned over her cheating husband and his snarky mistress(es). Plus what would it be to live in a world where the new secretary receives overt sexual advances hourly from her male coworkers…? (I know. I know, “That’s sexual harassment and I don’t have to take it”. But in this show the men aren’t scary.)

The writers have a cheesy way of speaking to their 21st Century audience with jokes to make us collectively scoff. “And look at us today! What were they thinking?”

• "Try not to be overwhelmed by all this technology; it looks complicated, but the men who designed it made it simple enough for a woman to use."
• The ad-men are backing a Richard Nixon campaign for something. Yeah, Dick Nixon.
  
• “Everyone loves to smoke. They’re going to whether you tell them to or not”
• That woman smoking and drinking is pregnant?! Whaaaaa…?
• The closeted creative director: "We’re supposed to believe that people are living one way, and secretly thinking the exact opposite? Ridiculous!"
• That child has a plastic bag over her head! And her mother didn't say anything!
  
• Those unbuckled children fell on the car floor!
• “Psychiatry is just this year’s candy pink stove.”
• “Who put the Chinaman in my office?” (Chinaman. Ha.)
• “They paid an Oriental family to be in Mr. Campbell’s office.” (Oriental. Ha.)

And then a less cheesy way, revealing harsh realities.

• “Everyone loves to smoke. They’re going to whether you tell them to or not”
• Single women were a threat--the divorced ones and the career women
  
• African Americans featured have service jobs and no one talks to them (except for Don Draper chatting with the waiter at a bar about women in the pilot. And it seems that the whole point is that he’s talking to someone he’s “not supposed to”.)
• Your friend’s dad will slap you if you’re out of line. And then your dad will say “Do you need more?"

The actors are committed to their characters (January Jones looks so friggin' sad all the time and there seems to always be something else on Jon Hamm's mind--true to their complicated lives as Betty and Don Draper), the attention to detail on the set is impressive and the story is intriguing....just how did companies run when women were strictly secretaries and butt-pinching was part of the job description? Were all mothers unhappy? And cheated on? But seriously, thank goodness Husband isn’t King anymore, requiring permission for wives to go to therapy and getting a phone update from the shrink after each session.

The pilot episode was especially heavy on introducing themes (apparently for an audience that sleeps with gum in its hair):

• There is a clear division of labor (and some of the women are super unhappy)
• Women who are independent are ostracized (or just gossiped about)
• African Americans live in a parallel world
• Child-rearing was reckless
• Everyone smokes and drives drunk
• "Have we ever hired any Jews?" ... "Not on my watch."
• Closeted homosexuals
• etc...really anything that was crazy about the 1960s
  

So while there was quite a bit of information overload, I think that’s standard for a pilot. The pace slowed in the next two episodes and the storyline moved, thankfully.

There is an obvious lack of music. Songs come in to make dramatic points, like a romantic song after a romantic scene and always with a vocalist. But the show is so visually appealing that it took me halfway through the second episode to even notice. Even the cigarette smoke is beautiful.

So what I take from it is an effective portrayal of A Reality. The most obvious sounds are elevator doors opening, ice clinking and cars whirring. The Boy’s Club talks about sex over a good strong martini and the mamas want more from life. If everyone’s outfits didn’t match so well, I could imagine this happening.

I know little about the advertising business beyond my role as "target audience". I guess this gives me more cred than I realize, but this show seems to play on the History of Advertising which I definitely can't say anything about. I also have to assume the jokes become less obvious and the audience is treated less like an idiot as the show grows. Otherwise I can't imagine anyone would have the patience.

And, in the end, the verdict is I like it. Because it makes me feel good. And 9 times out of 10 that is good enough reason for me.