Pre-Legalization Classic

Rating: 9/10 (6 July 2020)

When a film aspires to elite stoner flick status, it faces historic competition. Yet by leveraging the new and familiar, 2008's "Pineapple Express" now sits in the Pantheon alongside the fabled weed comedies that forged its path.
Seth Rogan and "Superbad" co-writer Evan Goldberg also scribed "Pineapple Express," where we find Rogan as dope fiend and subpoena server Dale Denton. When his stash runs dry, Dale dials up fog-headed Saul Silver (James Franco) to procure his next bag. Saul introduces Dale to Pineapple Express: a marijuana strain as rare as it is potent. Dale somehow gets teed up to serve a subpoena to Saul's supplier -- one Ted Jones (Gary Cole of "Office Space") -- and while sparking up outside his house, Dale witnesses Ted blowing a hole in a dude's head. Dale flees in buffoonish style, leaving a smoldering roach with the olfactory traits Ted knows to be Pineapple Express.
An oddball hit man, an Asian drug cartel, and the parents of Dale's young girlfriend all contribute to the hilarious fingerprint of "Pineapple Express." This is entry-level coursework for post-legalization stoners wondering what it was like to imbibe pot illegally. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!) WATCHED IT? THEN WATCHLIST: "Stadium Anthems (2018), "Dazed and Confused (1993)," "Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)."