Thursday, August 7, 2008

Pineapple Express (***1/2)

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
Directed by David Gordon Green



***1/2

The stoner flick is a funny genre. Technically, the original Harold & Kumar film was a film about two young men and an adventurous night, but it's considered a stoner film. The Big Lebowski is a hilarious take on modern film noir, but since Jeff Bridges smokes weed, it's considered a stoner film. No other movie prop can overtake an entire movie's genre the way marijuana does, even if it's not a focal point to the plot. Pineapple Express, the newest Judd Apatow brainchild, takes a different approach. This hilarious film tries to infuse marijuana into every aspect of the story, almost empowering all other plot points.

So I guess it's safe to say that those audience members who aren't a fan of the inebriating plant may find Express a bit vexing, but for those who watch objectively get to experience one of the funniest films of 2008. The film is about Dale (Seth Rogan), a pudgy pothead who works as a process server, constantly disguising himself so he can hand out subpoenas to those who least expect it. Well, to be honest, he spends most of his day listening to talk radio and blatantly smoking his favorite herb. He's in a puzzling relationship with a high school senior named Angie (Amber Heard) which would be a much more disturbing sub-plot if it wasn't a perfect example of his underachieving lifestyle.

The other half of this film's dynamic duo is Saul (James Franco), Dale's main source of weed. Saul spends his entire life baked out of his mind in an apartment filled with so many gadgets that go to waste on his simple mind. When Dale comes to Saul to make a purchase, Saul reveals his new stuff: Pineapple Express. A new weed so amazing smoking it almost feels like--as Saul puts it--"killing a unicorn". The two fill up on the high-level marijuana, and Dale walks away buying a quarter-bag of his own.

Later in the day, Dale sits outside the house of Ted Jones (an interestingly dark Gary Cole), and once again smokes before preparing to deliver yet another subpoena. This time, though, Dale witnesses Jones and another lady officer (Rosie Perez) murder a man. In attempts to flee the scene, Dale makes quite a racket and drops his joint. Dale escapes but Jones knows that the weed is Pineapple Express, and he knows that the only person in the city who has this rare supplement is Saul. So, Dale and Saul are forced to go on the run from these crooked cops in a chase film that is as hysterical and violent as it is impromptu.

All Apatow films have the loveable supporting character. 40-Year-Old Virgin had Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Romany Malco as a tag-team comedy force. Superbad had the unforgettable McLovin. What we get in Pineapple Express is Red (Danny McBride). Red is the middle-man who gives Ted's weed to Saul. Equipped with a 90's Will Smith flat-top and gangster lingo, Red bursts in and out of the film as loudly as possible bringing constant hilarity and unpredictability. McBride has hopped around through bad comedies like Drillbit Taylor and The Heartbreak Kid, but in Express he's a revelation of comedic ability.

The film is directed by proven autuer David Gordon Green--perhaps the last person on Earth that anyone would consider to be the director of an Apatow production. The man behind such tranquil, lovely films as George Washington and All The Real Girls has a lot of fun with his first major Hollywood film, but there still are glimpses of the master behind the camera. Bringing along his usual cinematographer, Tim Orr, Express is easily the most visually stylized of all of the Apatow productions, particularly the scenes that are driven by the dialogue and not the action.

Speaking of the action, I should take the time to say how surprised I was with the violence is in this film. Not that I minded, nor do I believe that the violence is as bad as films like Wanted or even Untraceable from earlier in the year, but I don't think I'm the only one who expected more punchy one-liners and sight gags than bullet-grazed bodies and horrific assassinations. The film, I believe can stand alone as a pretty competent action film, using the always dependable Hitchcock formula of a regular Joe who gets caught up in trouble he can't even begin to understand, but only a fool watches this film not to come out appreciating the comedy first.

I think the reason why so many love Apatow films is because of their "everyman" leads. How else could you explain someone like Seth Rogan becoming a movie star in such image-conscious times? Rogan has performances like this on lock-down: loveable loser who's put in unusual place of responsibility. It's to his credit that he's able to make this same character funny every time. The real energy in this film comes from James Franco. Franco, an actor I've always found wooden and disingenuous seems freed by the character of Saul, never relenting on his constant state of euphoric highness.

The film contains great supporting performances from The Office's Craig Robinson and a wonderful Ed Begley Jr. as Angie's impatient and gun-toting father. This film is probably the funniest movie I've seen this year (I'd have to re-watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall before I can say this definitively) and never lets go of its adrenaline. Sometimes the film falls in love with its action sequences a little too much, and the film has a black-and-white prologue that seems to be a scene from an entirely different film, but it is in no way a film experience that you will want to forget.

1 comment:

Chloe Dinnerrolly said...

what the hell do you know about buying and selling weed?