Needn't toke to enjoy this one, but what the hey, can't hurt either...

Rating: 7/10 (10 August 2008)

Well, I knew this was "just a stoner movie" going in, though the trailer had a few laughs and it was directed by David Gordon Green. It's practically not worth reciting, but, uh, Judd Apatow and his crew. Man-boy. Those same old words that are in practically every review of these movies. And anyway...
Pineapple Express starts out really well and manages to keep the humor up through most of its playlength. The dialog is pretty spot on in places, and the relationship between the two leads is actually really believable and moving. The real fun of it is that pretty much every party involved in the plot really has an imperfect notion of what is going on, leading to some pretty hilarious sequences as takers, dealers, and everyone in between psych themselves out over what is mostly just hyperactive imaginations--though sometimes they're actually correct, making it all the more silly.
The second half? Not so great. Once the various parties start meeting and the guns start going off, the movie leans towards wanting to be serious as a sort of tease, then just goes for the slapstick and absurd. Make no mistake: it's funny, but it detracts from the real humor of a plethora of characters slowly wigging out over things they know nothing about, mostly as a result of being under the influence. Sorry, but once the action starts, it's like a cheap Hot Fuzz knock off... the sequences are silly but rather ridiculous, and some of them really lead no where.
Also, there are some pretty massive plot holes in this movie, the type you can stick an arm through and see yourselves flipping off the writer over. Yes, I know: stoner movie, no one cares. No reason to at least put in a single line of dialog saying, "Hey, I happen to know something about a supposed secret hideout, maybe it's actually there" instead of just having characters randomly show up there. I mean, I know expectations are low on this movie, but that's no reason to just ignore significant plot points.
What does make the movie up is the performances and the contemporary pop culture savvy. This is definitely a movie with legs, the type of one that people will watch in 20 years and be all like, "Hahaha, ahhh the millennium!" (like watching Dazed and Confused and laughing about the 90s). And as Apatow productions go, this is one that manages to be just intelligent enough to not be "Dewey Cox" BS and still silly enough to not drag like "Knocked Up".
What the heck. Check it out. And if you're the type, go ahead and toke before you go, because as Rogan's character says, "Weed makes everything better... bad days, bad music, bad movies..." Luckily this one didn't have to be all that bad, so that the weed isn't required.
--PolarisDiB