Pineapple Express

If you’re going to watch one comedy from 2008, make it this one. Weed, crazy violence and Seth Rogen combine to make “Pineapple Express” a unique and hilarious stoner comedy.

Dale (Rogen), a legal server, buys weed from Saul (Franco), who just wants to be his friend, but their sad lives are blown away when Dale witnesses a murder. With master-dealer Ted (Cole) after them, the stoners go on the run, trying to figure out what to do next in-between tokes.

Seth Rogen plays a little away from his comfort zone for once, but it is still largely the same performance. James Franco is the best thing here though, with Spider-Man just a distant memory. Rogen and Franco should take these characters on into a franchise, or failing that, work together again, because they’re hilarious together onscreen. Rogen is a nastier, less-kindly version of his slacker character here, and Franco is completely alien from anything I’ve ever seen him in before. They both manage to make their characters likeable yet pathetic, apt for two stoners.

Rosie Perez, as the corrupt policewoman cohort to Gary Cole’s Ted Jones, is barely in the film, but the character is really just a script excuse for a link to the police. Amber Heard, as Dale’s school-aged girlfriend, presents a girl who really should have chosen a better partner with a proportionate performance of embarrassment and innocence.

The rest of the cast is just as good, and Danny McBride will probably become the new Rogen after this and “Tropic Thunder”. McBride’s Red is a dealer above Saul, and is at turns a sissy stoner and a bad-ass, invincible ally to the two main stoners. He gets most of the best lines, and at times reminded me of the bizarre performances Will Ferrell gives in cameo roles like “Wedding Crashers”; he needs more time onscreen! Gary Cole is the bad guy, the dealer above Red, but does get given more than just this, as we see his obvious affection for weed too. His two hitmen, played by Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan, are the most dysfunctional pair of assassins ever; one always talking about getting home for his wife’s meal, and the other seemingly completely deranged and claiming he ’doesn’t need to use’ his gun. Again, like Franco and Rogen, these guys could star in a whole film and I’d watch it.

For an Apatow movie, this seems to be quite different in terms of its production and the violent, less-than-real view on the narrative. That doesn’t mean it’s bad – in fact, it makes a change. As a comedy, its dialogue is its strength, with some truly laugh-out-loud quotes to remember. David Gordon Green, previously known for being an indie director, makes a film here that allows him to jump into mainstream filmmaking whilst also still producing, in both wittiness of script and scarcity of setting, a film that has largely indie sensibilities.

The undoubted strength here, the dialogue from the first scene is the best part of the movie. Franco’s Saul gets most of the best lines, but McBride’s Red, along with the two hitmen, provide some memorable exchanges and conversations. There’s a Huey Lewis song on the soundtrack, so it’s almost like it’s harking back to the ‘80s. The use of real songs throughout gives it a bit of a boost, but it’s nothing special. The film has some great action scenes, and they’re ground in reality (as much as possible), as can be seen in the car chase scenes in particular. The other set-pieces are a mixture of hilarity and blood-spitting violence, which makes for a quite entertaining experience!

All in all, this is a funny film, far better than many others from this year or the last few. And you don't have to have smoked weed to enjoy it, I'm pretty sure of that.

8/10