Hilarious and action-packed

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2008)

I saw this at a preview screening last night and had a blast. Pineapple Express is about a dope dealer (James Franco) and a 25-year-old weed-smoking process server (Seth Rogen) who has an 18-year-old girlfriend who's still in high school. The two buddies are forced to go on the run when one of them witnesses a murder, and hilarity and wild action ensue. All I knew going into this was that it was a stoner action comedy, which seemed like a strange mix, but I thought it ended up working beautifully. Rogen and Franco have an easy chemistry (they first worked together almost ten years ago when they were on Freaks & Geeks) and even though this movie makes you constantly want to yell at them to stop being such idiots, they're likable and charming, and their constant screw-ups are all part of the humor. Also, I was surprised at how bloody and violent Pineapple Express occasionally was. Despite that, however, it's pretty hilarious throughout, even during the action scenes. If the idea of two stoners, armed to the teeth, heading off to a warehouse shootout in a yellow Daewoo while blasting Public Enemy's "Lost at Birth" sounds funny to you, then you'll probably enjoy this movie.