Photo provided by Sony Pictures
Hollywood may have just perfected the formula for comedy films. In recent years, movies such as “Superbad” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” have all been summer blockbusters. The latest to the addition is “Pineapple Express,” a buddy comedy starring Seth Rogan and James Franco.
What do they all have in common? A witty combination of drugs and alcohol assisted by a team that includes producer and writer Judd Apatow and Rogan. The pair’s films, including last year’s movie “Knocked Up,” have set the bar for new comedies.
“Pineapple Express” is nothing short of spectacular as far as buddy-comedy films go, especially in a year with the highly anticipated release of “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”, the second installment of their adventures.
The partnership between Rogan and his sidekick, James Franco, who plays Saul Silver, dates back to the prime-time television series, “Freaks and Geeks,” a short-lived comedy-drama also written by Apatow, where the two played nerdy high school students trying to fit in.
The grown-up version has Rogan playing Dale Denton, a Los Angeles process server and Franco playing his drug dealer, Saul Silver.
In “Pineapple Express,” the pair is on the run from henchmen hired by drug lord Ted Jones, played by Gary Cole, after witnessing a murder of a rival drug lord.
The latest so-called stoner comedy also stars comedian Dr. Ken Jeong, who played Dr. Kuni in “Knocked Up,” and Mad TV’s Bobby Lee in an action-packed two hours that will surely receive similar cult followers, like another 2006 comedy, “Grandma’s Boy.”
Not only does the movie include guns, explosions, and quotable phrases, it also contains many random scenes that may have you wondering if Seth Rogan was under the influence when he wrote the screenplay.
In one scene, Saul, in an attempt to kick out the windshield of a car, actually gets his leg stuck in the windshield and is forced to drive away from henchmen this way.
There are enough references to marijuana in this movie that one can build a good understanding of marijuana culture by simply watching the film. Although not necessarily promoting the use of the illegal drug, the films portrayal and free-use of the drug is liberal enough to receive the restricted rating.
Although definitely not a choice for a Sunday afternoon film with the family, the humor and action of “Pineapple Express” will keep you wanting more from the Apatow and Rogan duo.
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