Pineapple Express is definitely an underrated movie. I think the problem with this movie is that a lot people will pass this off as your average stoner comedy, which technically it is, but it is actually a lot more than that, and I think the problem with this movie is that most people didn’t really ‘get it’.
Taking a look at the movie, the main two characters, played by Seth Rogen and James Franco are both stoners, and for most of the movie they are high, but it is the comedy gold what makes this movie so enjoyable to watch. The jokes just aren’t about stoners, well some of them are, but there are quite a few in there that are classic.
The movie has a great opening, where some American General visits an underground bunker where they are experimenting with some type of super marijuana known as ‘Pineapple Express’. This is quickly deemed illegal, as the General sees the effects it has on the participant smoking it. We are then whisked forward to the present day and introduced to Dale, a process server, who also likes to spend his days getting high. After he witnesses a murder while smoking the Pineapple Express, he must go on the run with his best friend Saul, from the local gangster. The movie see’s them running through the town trying to escape from the two dudes trying to chase them down, hired by the local gangster to kill them. The movie is not only a great comedy but looks closely at the friendship of the two dudes, based mainly on the fact that one is the dealer and one is the supplier. The movie comes to an awesome conclusion, that was surprisingly gruesome at points, which was a bit of a shock, as it wasn’t something I was expecting, but none the less I thought the end was great.
Seth Rogen plays the part of the typical stoner well. I think he plays the same sort of character in most of his movies, in particular he reminded me of the character he played in Knocked Up in some ways. I like Seth Rogen and think he is great in these type of comedy roles. So overall a solid performance from him.
James Franco is also great in the movie. I think Franco is a tremendous actor, and uses this movie to show that he can play a diverse range of characters, he is a great semi-paranoid stoner, and comes across well, not sure about the long hair though. His character really reminded me of either Bill or Ted from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I think it was the way he was talking throughout the movie. He did a great job of playing a stoner.
In some ways it did remind me of Superbad, even though it is a completely different movie, you can still tell that it was made by the same people, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The comedy was great to watch, and the first half of the movie was fantastic, and at times comedy gold, however I think the second half of the movie was let down slightly by the over the top violence and gore, for some reason it fit in with the rest of the movie.
I feel I was a little to generous giving them four stars, but i don’t three would have done the movie justice, so four it is.
