It’s safe to say that I didn’t expect too much of Pineapple Express. Mediocre reviews put me on my guard; I’ve never been a huge fan of wacky comedies, and although I’ve enjoyed most of Judd Apatow’s work, a lot of it his hit or miss, and most of it relies on the skill of its actors. Seth Rogen has obviously proven himself to be very capable, and I had great faith in James Franco, but I had no idea what to expect from everyone else.
As much as I enjoyed (and still enjoy) Superbad, the exchanges of insults and wit between characters are still, by far, the strongest part of the movie. I expected Pineapple Express to have the same problem, at the very least. After all, a plot built on a rare strain of weed could only be, well, half-baked. Durr hurr.
But here’s the thing about Pineapple Express – what makes it such a good movie. The premise and characters are equally over-the-top, but it works because of the actors. It works because the actors take themselves so damn seriously. And that’s what matters.
Ed Begley, Jr. is a perfect example. Seth Rogen’s character, Dale, is dating a high school girl (Amber Heard), and Begley plays her father. He is both funny and terrifying, and he is pitch-perfect because he’s so serious about being crazy. Kurtwood Smith played Red Forman the same way on That ’70s Show, and it was really funny for exactly the same reason.
Pineapple Express is a comedy with a hilariously horrifying premise. To make a long story short: Dale is a stoner who doesn’t like when drug dealers act like they’re your buddy. James Franco is his drug dealer, and also wants to be his buddy. Because he likes Dale, he sells him some of the rarest weed he’s ever come across: Pineapple Express. Dale loves it, then returns to his day job as a process server. While waiting outside his latest client/victim’s house, he witnesses a horrific murder. And one of the murderers is a cop.
He panics, and drops the joint he’s smoking – filled with Pineapple Express – out his car window. And makes such a racket trying to pull out and drive away that the murderers see him.
Here’s the big problem: one of the murderers, the non-cop one, is the very drug lord who supplies Pineapple Express. Dale supposes (rightly) that he will recognize the joint and come after Dale’s drug dealer, Saul – and by extension, find Dale.
Terrified, Dale and Saul flee together to avoid the drug lord’s hit men. They find themselves suddenly caught in a war between the Asian drug suppliers and Ted Jones, the Pineapple Express supplier/murderer/played by Gary Cole of Office Space fame. As they try to keep themselves, their family, and their friends safe, the two men learn all sorts of important life lessons and get really baked.
Despite what you may have heard, Pineapple Express works as both an action movie and a laugh-out-loud comedy. I don’t know what movie some of the critics were watching. Check it out if you’re a stoner, or if you just enjoy laughing at them.
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