What do movies like “Knocked up,” “Superbad,” and “The 40
Year Old Virgin” have in common? Yes, producer Judd Apatow who decided once
more to cast Seth Rogen in one of his movies, “Pineapple Express.” I think Rogen
doesn’t need to act, he just has to be himself in all of his movies. Well, to
be honest, Judd Apatow’s movies are very easy to do. They all present common
people who do common things. Either a woman gets pregnant from a one night
stand or some guys get stoned and say dumb things.
“Pineapple Express” falls in the second category, reminding of
Cheech and Chong and weed and getting stoned…and so on and so forth. As Seth
Rogen, who plays Dale, looks like he is always stoned, James Franco takes his
part very seriously and manages to be very funny in the role of Saul, who is, indeed, always stoned.
So, Dale and Saul are good friends who always help each
other. Saul is there for Dale and always manages to make him feel better…by
giving the best advice..No, that’s another movie. Saul is Dale’s drug dealer
and the main helping activity is smoking weed. In this movie, I think the main
character is the weed. While Dale has the tough job of being a process server,
which means he has to give subpoenas to people, Saul has the even tougher job
of doing nothing all day, but smoke.
In the beginning, the movie’s action is set in the 1930s, showing
a private in the Army, played by Bill Hader, smoking Pineapple Express, a
powerful pot which is being grown in an underground lab. The action then moves
to the present and shows how Dale, who tries the Pineapple Express, is a witness in a crime and, because he gets
scared, he leaves some traces, making the bad guy's job easier. Smart
as he always is, Dale comes to Saul and involves him too. While they are trying
to escape the bad guys, including a crooked cop played by Rosie Perez and a mob
boss played by Gary Cole, they make the audience laugh.
Even if the action is somewhat uneven and the dialogues seem
rushed and unfinished at times, overall the movie is funny more through the
situation than through language.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Judd Apatow came up with
the idea after he saw Brad Pitt’s character in “True Romance.” Apatow said that
it would be “funny to make a movie in which you follow that (perpetual high) character
out of his apartement and watch him get chased by bad guys.” Also, Dale was
supposed to be played by James Franco and Saul by Seth Rogen. They exchanged
roles during rehearsals.
The movie is not “radical, dude” but it sure is funny and you
don’t have to get stoned to understand the humor.
“Pineapple Express”
Genre: Action Comedy
Directed by David Gordon Green
Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Release Date: 6 August 2008
Cast: Seth Rogen( Dale Denton),
James Franco( Saul Silver), Danny R. McBride( Red), Kevin Corrigan( Budlofsky),
Craig Robinson( Matheson), Gary Cole (Ted Jones), Rosie Perez (Carol/Female
Cop), Amber Heard( Angie Anderson)
Duration: 111 minutes
