“Pineapple Express”

MOVIE REVIEW: “Pineapple Express” stars Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet [2011], Kung Fu Panda), James Franco (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, True Story), Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder, Eastbound & Down [TV series]), Kevin Corrigan (The Departed, Goodfellas), Craig Robinson (The Office [TV series], This Is the End), Gary Cole (Office Space, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby), Rosie Perez (The View [TV series], The Road to El Dorado), Amber Heard (Zombieland, Drive Angry), Ed Begley Jr. (St. Elsewhere [TV series], This Is Spinal Tap), Nora Dunn (Bruce Almighty, Three Kings), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine [TV series], Superbad), Bill Hader (Hot Rod, Inside Out), and Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Community [TV series]). It is directed by David Gordon Green (Your Highness, Joe) and is co-written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg (This Is the End, The Interview) and Judd Apatow (This Is 40, The 40-Year-Old Virgin). When a process server named Dale Denton (Rogen) witnesses a murder while on the job, he runs away with his drug dealer, Saul (Franco), after he realizes that the killers are after him and the rare drugshe bought from Saul called Pineapple Express. Once on the run, Dale and Saul are in for a wild and funny adventure that is sure to have viewers laughing.

From the film’s poster, you can tell that you are in for a raunchy, crazy, funny movie. I mean, look at the cast. This movie is a semi-famous comedy, for which I have never seen. After hearing how funny it was and how I should watch it, I decided to give it a shot. I really liked it. What else can I say? With comedies, you are in for sheer entertainment more so than story. That is very evident in this movie, but I had a great time and it was very enjoyable. The star-studded comedy greats in this movie pitch in a lot to the laughs, especially James Franco. I found his performance to be the best he has ever given in any movie I’ve seen him in. I saw more of the character of Saul than I did him. Rogen did a great job as well, playing the average joe kinda guy who was also funny. Danny McBride, although listed third in the list, wasn’t in the movie as long as Franco and Rogen, but he did a funny job nonetheless and I laughed at almost every part he was in. The action was good in this and the jokes, for the most part, landed. What the comedy in this really relies on is stoner humor. Knowing nothing about dealing with drugs other than “Breaking Bad,” this film helps with showing more of a messed up situation surrounding a drug rather than using drugs. The jokes don’t get tiring and everything is always moving at a fast pace. There are definitely memorable scenes, especially the driving in a cop car scene. When it comes to issues, well, there’s not much to say. It’s a comedy, so silly and stupid is usually what the point of it is. Trying to necessarily break down the plot however, I found two. The first would be how the story is more about a chase than anything else. A conflict is set up and then the rest of it is just action scenes and jokes. No serious build-up or stops. But it’s a comedy, so what do you expect? Finally the last one has more to do with how silly it is: mortality. This film seems to know nothing of it for there were a bunch of times where a character was shot are hurt to the point of death, but yet they were fine, mainly involving McBride’s character, Red. He was in critical shape by the end and how he survived several times I’ll never know. In the end, this was a hilarious movie that was enjoyable, fun, and entertaining and I recommend anyone of the right age to check it out! FINAL SCORE: 88%= Juicy Popcorn

Here is the trailer: