Not perfect, but funny

Rating: 7/10 (17 September 2008)

Pineapple Express combines genres - it is a mix of stoner comedy, knockabout farce, buddy movie, and crime thriller. The crime thriller element provides the plot on which everything else is hung and, it has to be said, is probably the element which sits least easily with the others - for instance, after the intermediary dope supplier has amusingly betrayed the two hapless protagonists to the bad guys, they shoot him, and suddenly funny doesn't seem quite so funny any more. Having said that, genuine jeopardy is a valuable engine for driving the story.
I didn't care for Seth Rogen very much before seeing this movie. My attitude has softened, but not by very much. His character here simply isn't very likable, and most of his performance is delivered in hysterical shouting. By contrast, James Franco (who also does his fair share of shouting) comes across as a much sweeter, if befuddled, character. In fact, by far the best thing about this movie (if one discounts Amber Heard's not inconsiderable decorative value) is the buddy aspect, and the way the friendship between this pair of losers develops and comes to be recognised by both of them as something which is of such value that it transcends the horrible situation they find themselves in.
My knowledge of marijuana culture is limited, so a number of the stoner gags were lost on me (though not on the row of young men sitting just in front of me, who laughed uproariously at points which left me puzzled). And there is a lot of stoner stuff, particularly in the first half hour. But there are a lot of other funny lines too (not least from the parents of Amber Heard's character), some very funny physical stuff and, at the heart of the movie, an engaging relationship between the two main characters. The mixing of genres may not be 100% successful, but it works well enough to make watching the movie worthwhile.
It is probably redundant to mention that the use of our old friend the F-word is almost incessant.