Film Review: Pineapple Express

The latest movie to come from the seemingly endless stream of Apatow crew films is Pineapple Express. Was the comedic duo of Apatow staple Seth Rogen and James Franco enough to make this movie stand out from the others?

It might not be completely due to the acting, but Pineapple Express certainly has its own flavor in comparison to the other Judd Apatow movies. It is definitely the strangest, most “out there” film of the group. In case you have been living in a cave (with Bigfoot) for the last few years, there have been plenty of these comedies released. They include (in my opinion):

• The 40 Year Old Virgin
• Knocked Up
• Superbad
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Pineapple Express

Though Judd Apatow has his name attached to many other projects, these films star his classic group and share much of the same style of humor. Pineapple Express has the same level of raunchiness and profanity that I expected considering I have seen all the movies with the exception of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. However for whatever reason it seemed like that was not as prominent in Pineapple as it was in the others…but it was replaced with plenty of drug use.

I attribute most of that fact to the complete dedication to subtle peculiarity in the humor. In my opinion that is the greatest strength of Pineapple Express. There are plenty of slapstick scenes and a sizable of absurd comedy as well, but the true enjoyment for me came in the form of the understated. The best example is Franco uttering “Is there a Rancor down there?” just before he enters a hole in the ground. There is no time to process the line, and the movie just continues.

That brings me to the ingenious character who embodies this quality of the movie: Red. This odd role played by Danny McBride was the highlight of the whole film. Nearly every one of his lines is delivered so otherworldly, as if he does not belong on Earth. The humor he delivers is very unique and his performance is a big part of separating Pineapple Express from the pack.

At this point I have not established that much. The movie is strange, the humor is strange, and I liked the subtle humor. Beyond that there is not much I can disclose. This is not because there is not more, but because there is almost no way to put this movie into words. I will give it a shot though.

Next time you and your friends are sitting around and someone says “What if…” and that is followed by someone else chiming in with a “What if after that…” keep it going for a while. Make sure that over time the “What if”’s get increasingly bizarre and ridiculous. After an hour or two you will have a script that resembles Pineapple Express in terms of plot.

If you did not like any of the previous Apatow movies, you will not enjoy this. However if you did enjoy the previous movies but felt the formula was getting stale then Pineapple Express is a potential solid choice. I thought it was pretty good, but mainly because of the distinct brand of comedy. Just be forewarned about the profanity/lowbrow humor (Parents talk to your kids).

7/10