Review - Pineapple Express (JimK & DonnaK)

By JimK
(3 votes)

JimK: So Pineapple Express then. Wasn’t expecting to do this one, but there we were, on cheap night at the theater, buying tickets for it. And I’m glad we did.

Normally Donna and I tend to spoil the crap out of things, but this just isn’t a movie that requires us to spoil it in order to talk about it. So NO SPOILERS! THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE ZONE! If you saw the trailer, then that’s as much as we’re gonna tell you. If you didn’t see the trailer, then…uhh…here’s the trailer:

OK, so first off, I really liked this movie. I expected to not like it. I have this thing where I think I dislike Seth Rogen. And, quite frankly Judd Apatow. While Apatow did not direct or write this screenplay, he’s involved as a producer and he co-wrote the story. I don’t even know where it comes from, because aside from Freaks & Geeks, I don’t think I’ve actually seen anything that comes out of the “Apatow school.” I sort of expected a dumb comedy that tried to be more, reached for that John Hughes/Steve Holland thing, but ultimately failed. Like, say, Juno.

DonnaK: Now, unlike Jim, I did see Knocked Up and I liked it quite a bit. I was actually pretty impressed with how well Apatow managed to straddle genres as adeptly as he did. Knocked Up managed to be both a believable and likable romantic comedy and a screwed-up, profanity laden slapstick routine with both sides getting equal measure and consideration. It takes a hell of a lot of talent to pull something like that off and Apatow’s got it in spades. Unlike someone like…. oh, say… .Diablo Cody for example. *cough*

JimK: The sad thing is I used to like Diablo’s blog…but then I saw her movie, and the more I see of her the less I like her. Somehow I believed that I was in for another Juno here. I guess in my mind I transferred my dislike of Juno through Michael Cera to Seth Rogen? Like some weird Bacon Number thing? What I’m saying is I expected a bad movie.

What I got was a fun, funny action buddy comedy that totally plays with the genre, subverting every expectation you have, delaying the payoff, messing with itself and being self-aware without being “meta.” You expect some pretty standard things to happen in a buddy action comedy, and these things happen, just maybe not when you expect them or in the way that makes them feel cliched and stale. Mostly it’s just fucking funny though. It’s not a stoner comedy at all. It’s an action comedy that happens to feature two dudes that like to get high. And might be a little gay for each other. Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow really just need to go to a Motel 6 and fuck and get this tension out of their relationship.

DonnaK: Agreed completely. I love how the Apatow/Rogen team managed to play with genre expectations so ridiculously well. Every time you think you’re about to settle into a genre-moment and get a pay-off, they manage to switch things up completely on you. While you’d think this would just leave the viewer frustrated and unfulfilled (and in a lesser writer’s hands the viewer would be), this team never lets you down. Eventually all the storylines and all the genres pay off with a great deal more skill and awareness than nearly anyone else in Hollywood possesses at the moment. It really is quite a brilliant film that had me laughing my ass off the entire way through.

JimK: I thought the jokes flipped between base, broad comedy and some pretty smart lines. Franco was comedy gold as the stoned-out drug dealer, and Seth Rogen was surprisingly good. I suppose not “surprisingly” really, as lots of other people already liked him and knew he could do this stuff. Some key minor performances are Ed Begley Junior playing a bad-ass, shotgun-toting dad, Kevin Corrigan totally giving over to his Walken-like mannerisms and working with it instead of trying to hide it, and the Slushee that simulates the “Blood on the Highway” moment.

DonnaK: I loved the acting in this movie, I really did. Rogen is comedy GOLD. His timing is simply impeccable, as is his delivery. Franco was simply brilliant as well, and the two played off each other flawlessly throughout the movie. I agree with Jim about the supporting cast, but for me I really just want to give a standing ovation to Rogen and Franco. Without their perfect timing and feel for the film this all could have gone HORRIBLY wrong. Their solid performances really anchored the piece and kept it tight and funny all the way through.

JimK: All in all I was mightily impressed with the movie. It felt like all the best things about a Savage Steve Holland film, mixed with a little Lethal Weapon (1), plus some Blues Brothers in there. Clearly these guys have been influenced by all of this stuff, but none of it feels like a ripoff. Somehow it manages to feel fresh and funny and pretty good. It was also smart to not really date the film with current events or any seriously dated social commentary or anything. This movie could have taken place in 1980, 1990 or 2008. The only thing that even comes close to dating the film is the cell phones and the fact that someone is watching UFC on a TV instead of say, boxing. It’s a smart move, and it shows this movie relies on being funny, not on being gimmicky. Like, say, Juno. I ended up kind of hating Juno for the blatant retro-hipster-nostalgia bullshit that substituted for actual writing, and Pineapple Express avoids all of that. It’s just two dudes in an unfortunate situation that quickly spirals out of control into an old-school farce.

DonnaK: Y’know, the more I see of Apatow and Rogen, the more I dislike Juno. Everything she did wrong these two do right, and it bothers me to no end that she got the Oscar for that half-baked hipster piece of crap Juno the same year Apatow did Knocked Up. The Academy is so out of it these days. *sigh*

Back on point, agreed with everything Jim said above. I started this review by praising how Apatow and Rogen can play with genre-twisting so well and I’m going to end it the same way. Pineapple Express is a marvelous showing of how well this writing team can take elements from many places, movies, and genres, mix them all up in a blender, throw in some of their own talent, and create true magic. I really, really enjoyed this movie and I think it’s going to stand the test of time pretty well.

JimK: Yeah. Fuck Juno! Pineapple Express FTW! I give it four out of five stars and suggest that you go see it one night when you are looking for a good laugh. Heartily recommended viewing.

DonnaK: I’m also giving is a solid four out of five stars with a STRONG recommendation to see it. It’s funnier than you think it might be, I promise. This is a really well-done movie which kept me laughing straight through the film. I definitely recommend it to everyone.

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