Piña Express

No more James Franco and Seth Rogen... Deeply saddened by the departure.

There will be many who will dismiss "Pineapple Express" as immature, overly silly, disjointed, and scatter-shot. There will be others who recognize it as a bizarrely artful, playful, loose genre-bending comedy with some outstanding performances, an inspired comedy script, and some great work from director David Gordon Green, certainly one of the finest young directors around.

The latter group is correct. "Pineapple Express" is, as a whole, the best movie the Apatow clan has produced yet. David Gordon Green is unquestionably the best director to direct one of these movies, but this is also a very different sort of movie than the films he usually directs. Does he rise to the challenge? He certainly does. I never would have believed that he was capable of directing such exciting and fun action scenes, or keep the movie's tone steady despite the different elements it consists of being so wildly disparate, but somehow he pulls it off. No other stoner movie can claim to be as artful and well-directed as this film.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's much-anticipated follow-up to "Superbad" is an excellent screenplay, but expect none of the realism and resonance of that film; "Pineapple Express" is all about the laughs, and the laughs are certainly here, and they are practically non-stop, with just about every scene featuring some great dialogue, acting, or the sort of incredible sight gag this movie does so well. This is just great comedy throughout.

In addition to David Gordon Green's excellent work as director, the film is technically superb. The soundtrack and use of music is brilliant, and frequent Gordon Green collaborator Tim Orr's cinematography is consistently great.

"Pineapple Express" will be an inherently divisive film. It didn't get the sort of critical accolades many previous Apatow clan movies did, and I expect audiences will also be a little less unanimous. Indeed, there's little of the critic-pleasing dramatic scenes Apatow's comedies have been praised for, and even when they do pop up they're usually deflated instantly with a joke, and credit has to go to director David Gordon Green for his expert handling of the film's tone, which never becomes schmaltzy, thank the heavens. Really, the whole film is throughly enjoyable except for the very last scene in the film, which contains one of the film's best jokes, but is really hard to buy given the state the characters are in, and also more than a little forced. Aside from that moment the whole thing works beautifully, quite astounding given the mesh of many different genres and sorts of comedy that this is. You either go with this movies sense of humor or you don't, and I imagine more people will enjoy the first three quarters of the movie, before the big, long action scene happens, and lots and lots of violence occurs. I guess you have to have a somewhat morbid sense of humor to laugh at ALL of the jokes in the film, but so what? There are also some nice little tongue-in-cheek references to the film's influences ("they messed with the wrong melon farmers").

The cast really give it their all. It was great to see James Franco back in a comedic role, and his performance steals the show. Rogen is good as usual, Gary Cole is a perfect villain, and it's nice to see the gorgeous and talented Amber Heard finally make a quality film (and get one of the film's funniest scenes as her character's final scene). The supporting cast are also all good in their roles.

There are a lot of reasons why "Pineapple Express" won't work for many people, and they will probably end up being the very reasons the film works for those who like it. The film's plot is inherently silly to an extent (although this is nowhere near the "Anchorman" style of comedy), and one must be prepared for an outright comedy and not something in the vein of "Knocked Up". "Pineapple Express" may end up being more enjoyable for stoners and those with friends who are stoners, but it works on its own as great comedy because the humor has much more range and scope than just marijuana. One of the best comedies in years.

9/10

Pineapple Express (2008)

*** (out of 4)

A pothead (Seth Rogan) and his dimwitted dealer (James Franco) hit the road after witnessing a cop (Rosie Perez) murder a man. Pretty soon the two are trying to get away from the cop as well as two drug lords in the middle of a war. As far as pot comedies goes this one here is nearly the best the small genre has to offer. I'm sure Cheech and Chong would give this thing two bongs up as it does contain plenty of laughs but I couldn't help but feel it had the same shortcomings as other Judd Apatow movies. That one issue with this film, as well as the others, is that it runs too long for its own good. Clocking in a nearly two-hours I couldn't help but feel that the film could have lost thirty-minutes and not much would have been missed. This is especially true during the ending shoot out, which just keeps going and going. Outside of that issue this film contains some great big laughs with most of them coming in the form of pot jokes and stuff dealing with stoners. Seth Rogan turns in another winning performance as he gains plenty of laughs from his older guy. James Franco is the real jewel in the film as he's dead-on perfect as the drug dealing loser who just sits around his house getting high, selling pot and watching reruns on television. Franco gets the look down just right but his facial gestures and voice tone perfectly capture that pot head many of us have met in our lives. I thought Perez was pretty much wasted in a thankless role that didn't offer her too much to do. Ed Begley, Jr. has a funny bit as Rogan's girlfriend's father. The screenplay really doesn't offer us any jokes we haven't seen countless times before and in many ways there's not an original idea here but that doesn't really matter because the performances are what makes the movie funny.

David Gordon Green has proven his ability to direct an array of films in different genres such as drama, horror and comedy. The latter applies here. Green helms an exceptional comedy. It certainly helps to have Rogen and Goldberg pen the screenplay. This film has excellent direction, screenplay, cinematography, special effects, soundtrack and acting. I don't recall hearing Eddy Grant's, "Electric Avenue" being played on the radio as much as it did in the early 80's after this film was released. This film has a plethora of comedic artists as cast members who all deliver splendid performances. In particular Rogen, Franco, Robinson, Heard, Cole, Hader, McBride and Corrigan stand out. As a matter of fact the entire cast is spot on in their timing, delivery and portrayals. The plot revolves around a stoner process servicer, Dale and his weed dealing stoner best friend, Saul. Dale has to serve papers to Saul's dealer and witnesses the dealer murder his competitor. Dale leaves behind evidence that the dealer immediately recognizes as Pineapple Express. This ignites Dale and Saul running for their lives while being pursued by assassins and corrupt police. The plot is hysterical, violent, riotous, action packed, boisterous, vivacious and has a rib-tickling ending. There are many hilarious scenes in this film. Some of the scenes are when underground military secret testing on marijuana with Private Miller takes place; when Saul explains the evolution of Pineapple Express and the engineering of the cross-joint; the fight at Red's apartment; Saul's chase with the police in hot pursuit; the bombastic fully loaded explosive showdown and the breakfast at the diner. There are also many side-splitting quotes in the film. To this day you'll hear fans of the film quote Dale saying, "You've been served" or General Bratt screaming, "We have a final decision on Item 9. ILLEGAL!". The film is like an embodiment of the peaceful counterculture meets the violent underworld. This is a loveable, memorable and sublime comedy that is a treat to view stoned or not.

There's no doubt about it, Pineapple Express is a relentlessly funny stoner movie, start to finish with little in the way of compromise; telling the story of two stoners, who end up entangled within a drug conspiracy plot that threatens their lives while smoking plenty of pot along the way, this year's latest instalment to the genre is the finest example of dumb -but well delivered- comedy yet. One discrepancy against it's classification as a stoner comedy however lies in that even if you're not high yourself; even if you've never even been high in your life, there's still lots of fun to be had here as the jokes are broad enough in their design to apply to any ridiculous situation. So while the plant obviously makes a starring role here, the focus is not primarily on it, and the movie is better off as a result.

So far this year we have been treated to an unusually high dosage of stoner comedies, with Pineapple Express being a late third behind the too-dumb-for-it's-own-good Strange Wilderness and the dumb-but-fun Harold & Kumar. However, despite coming in late to the game, the old expression of "saving the best 'till last" seems applicable here. Where previous instalments from this year combined the dumb with surreal through incoherent situations obviously dreamt up from people who were under the influence at the time, Pineapple Express feels silly, but not the extent where the entire feature boils down to caricature comedy. Here the writers take two characters, start them off one place and take them on an adventure not just through crime, car-chases, comical fight scenes and little personal squabbles, but through themselves. It's a combination which could have had a disastrously polarising effect, but the writers get it spot on here.

Main characters Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) and Saul Silver (James Franco) may have alliterative names akin to comic book heroes, but they're certainly not of that kind. Instead, they deal with drugs; Saul is Dale's supplier, and as much as Saul would like to think of Dale as a buddy, Dale wants nothing else to do with him outside of the service he provides. However, after Dale witnesses a murder involving some drug-dealer crimelords, the two are forced to embark on a journey that will have them at odds with each other whether they like it or not. What results of this is a story of friendship, and while the unlikely premise of these guys not exactly getting along does seem a bit shifty, the chemistry between Rogan and Franco is superb enough to allow their characters plenty of growing. To be sure, this isn't a hallmark drama, there are no grandeur statements and no tears are provoked from director David Gordon Green but that's what makes it lovable; it's a story about two regular guys, who get into crazy shenanigans, smoke weed and crack some jokes. It's not enlightening per se, but it's entertaining, and down to earth.

This is where Pineapple Express begins to take the lead in front of its predecessors, as it actually attempts to tell a compelling story with an undoubtedly overblown amount of action, but with grounded drama to bear the weight of its fabrications. Through this fusion of solid characterisation with a ridiculous but conceivable action-packed plot, the film succeeds in creating an engagingly entertaining experience that doesn't just provide excitement and memorable characters, but also manages to tickle the funny bone just as frequently.

Coming from the three guys who last year blessed the screen with the hilarious Superbad, Pineapple Express is a riot start to finish, combining lots of blunt dialogue with slapstick and farce to great effect in ways which made the aforementioned creation as funny as it was. It has to be said that this time around, the pacing isn't quite as tight, and the script's insistence on some scenes' ability to sustain laughter is a little off, and this in turn leads to the movie's only real technical fault. In such moments, jokes will be drawn out for long stretches of time, losing momentum, yet thankfully such scenes are far and few between, and with the pace heightening the more film reaches the conclusion; the frequency sharply decreases with time. Nevertheless, if you don't mind profane dialogue, blunt jokes and plenty of passive violence used mainly for comic effect, then Pineapple Express should please any desire for laughter that you may have.

And that's all it basically comes down to, but what else were you expecting? As a movie, Pineaple Express is an entertaining and at times sweet take on friendship based around two very down to earth characters that most people should be able to relate to in some way or another. As a duo, Rogan and Franco are extremely well matched, with the interplay between the two coming off as naturally comical and aptly delivered to the point of satisfying the movie's biggest pulling point and focus. With some great action scenes tinged with plenty of comedy, all revolving around some memorable characters portrayed by enthusiastic, suitably cast performers who end up within a plot which is admittedly hammy, but fun all the same; Pineapple Express is good for many things, but the thing that it does best is in making you laugh, and it does so with enough frequency to make this one of this year's greater comedies.

• Written by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)