Stars:
** 1/2
Rating: R for language,
drug use, sexual reference and violence
Run
Time: 1
hour, 52 minutes
I’m
typically not a fan of the wildly popular Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen collaborative
efforts (“Knocked Up”, “Superbad”, etc.) but a pitch-perfect performance by
Palo Alto native James Franco temporarily sways me in the other direction.
Franco is
Saul Silver, an affable hey-dude pusher of the dopest dope who finds himself in
hot water when one of his clients witnesses a murder. Said customer is Dale
Denton (Rogen), a schlumpy twenty-something process server with a high-school
girlfriend and an affinity for the weed.
Parked
outside the home of the city’s most notorious dealer (and prepped to deliver
yet another subpoena) Denton sees his client and a female cop (Rosie Perez)
waste a Chinese kingpin with ruthless brutality.
Denton
makes a ruckus and throws his half-smoked doobie to the pavement before taking
off in a panic. Unfortunately that particular brand of herb (Pineapple Express don’tcha
know) is traced straight back to Silver.
What begins
as a toker-action-comedy turns pure buddy pic as Denton and Silver engage in a ludicrous
odyssey cum comedy of errors to escape the drug lords who want their heads on a
platter. Translation: a raunchy blend of car chases, sex play, gun battles and
lots and lots of pot.
Rogen
co-wrote the script which lays waste to lowbrow stupidity while tackling a
smarter stream of consciousness. Long laugh-less stretches are punctuated with
moments of genuine wit, most of them courtesy of Franco, whose well-honed
dramatic skills also include wicked comic timing. (Move over Spicoli, there’s a
new stoner in town!) Danny McBride brings up the rear as a hilarious middleman
named Red.
Inexplicably
“Pineapple” is helmed by melancholy indie fave David Gordon Green who penned
and directed one of my favorite films of this year (“Snow Angels”) -- though
none of his spare signature style is evident.