I’ve seen plenty of stoner comedies, like Dude, Where’s My Car or any of the Cheech and Chong movies, but never before have I seen a stone action comedy. That’s just what you’ll see in Pineapple Express, an action movie with tons of comedy, all based around the mishaps of a couple of stoners played by Seth Rogen and James Franco. As much as I hate anything that promotes drug use, I still found this to be a very funny movie.

The title of the movie borrows its name from a Huey Lewis and the News song, and is also the name of a very special type of weed that Franco’s character sells to Rogen. While smoking the weed, Rogen witnesses a murder where a dirty cop (Rosie Perez) helps a drug dealer (Gary Cole) take out a rival. He throws his leftover joint (aka ‘the roach’) on the ground and takes off, but the drug dealer finds it. He recognized the Pineapple Express weed, links it back to Franco, which in turn connects him to Rogen. Pretty soon, a couple of thugs are after Franco and Rogen, and they find themselves in one hilariously bad situation after another. On top of that, another dealer (Danny McBride) is trying to save his own neck while getting them busted.

Seth Rogen plays pretty much the same guy he’s played in every movie he has been in. Had Katherine Heigl been around, he could have been the same guy from Knocked Up. If Paul Rudd was there to play video games and exchange gay jokes, he could have been the same guy from The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Even so, Rogen has a good thing going on and right now he is box office gold. He comes off as a likable guy, and has a sheepish grin that gives him a funny charm. Playing a stoner probably wasn’t much of a challenge for him.

James Franco is the real surprise here. He’s mostly made serious movies, and comes off the Spider-Man trilogy as a sort of villain. The part he plays in this movie is the slow-talking perpetually high dealer who laughs his way through the whole thing. Rogen actually wrote the part for himself, then realized Franco was much better. The chemistry between Franco and Rogen are what make this movie work. Danny McBride was hilarious as the guy whose loyalties kept changing depending on the situation. Craig Robinson (Darryl from The Office) is very funny as one of the thugs.

As a comedy, most of the humor is based around the two main characters being high and making mistakes. A lot of it is based in paranoia or clumsiness, but there are tons of quotable lines. As an action movie, this one has some good fight scenes and one of the funniest car chases I’ve ever seen. In one part, Franco’s character tries to kick out a shattered car windshield and ends up getting his foot stuck in the glass. As funny as it was, this was actually pretty realistic in how windshield glass works. In every other movie, one hit makes the whole thing bust out, if you think about it.

This was directed by David Gordon Green, who previously made All the Real Girls and Undertow. I really liked his direction in that he kept the cameras pulled back quite often, so you get to see a lot happening on screen at once. I am sick of these directors who shoot everything in close-up and make cuts every few seconds. The way Green put this movie together, it has a much more natural look, as opposed to being strung together. In other words, it’s not MTV-style.

The bottom line here is that if you liked stuff like The 40 Year-Old Virgin or Superbad, you’ll like Pineapple Express. It’s got plenty of action and comedy, and I felt entertained the entire time I watched it.


Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Funny Movie