A hilarious comedy experience

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2009)

At last, I finally watched Pineapple Express. I didn't have the opportunity of seeing it in theatres because it was never released in Peru, so the moment it was released on Blu-Ray, I ordered, watched it, and well... here I am. I'm one of those people who totally loved Apatow's previous productions involving Seth Rogen (The 40 year old virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad), so I guess I had pretty big expectations for their latest production... and they didn't disappoint. The best thing about the movie is that it manages to combine several genres - action, buddy movie, comedy - so effectively, and that the pairing of Seth Rogen and James Franco works so well. It also helps that a seasoned, indie director like David Gordon Green has directed the film. Despite the fact that most wouldn't think of him as the ideal choice to direct the movie, he proves he's perfect for the material. He gets it, and has clearly enjoyed shooting it.
If there's one particular thought I had the moment the movie ended, it was "this is the most random film I've ever seen." But I mean it as a compliment. Nothing in this movie seems staged - as random as most of the things that occur are - most of them consequence of the fact that Ted believes Dale to be a professional hit-man -, they feel like natural events that occur within the flow of the situations. It's obvious quite a bit of improvisation occurred during the filming of the movie, and it works to its advantage. Something very curious about Pineapple Express is that, with the exception of a seemingly-immortal character, and unlike most comedy leading men, none of the protagonists seem to live in a cartoon world. Things have and they have their consequences. The film, despite being a lighthearted comedy, has a couple of dark elements, and plenty of R-rated violence.
But don't take me wrong. Pineapple Express is very funny. Not all jokes work, but most of them do, and most of them made me laugh out loud. There are plenty of memorable one-liners - many of them a result of the actors' improvisational skills, I'm sure - and even the violence is at times funny. Consider the movie a parody of action movies and buddy comedies. As Seth Rogen states during one of the Blu Ray extras - it's an action movie, but with every character being stoned during the action. Although the film is pretty low-budget, even the action sequences look great - take the car chase, for example - and have a comedic edge to them that serves the movie really well.
Seth Rogen is awesome as usual - a comedic genius, although many people are getting tired of him due to overexposure. Still, one can't deny that he has both acting and comedic chops. In here, he surprisingly plays the "straight man", a normal guy - who isn't particularly goofy - involved in a very surrealistic situation. On the other hand, James Franco plays the goofier sort of character, and he does it amazingly. He exhibits a perfect comedic timing, and some of his lines are the funniest in the whole film. Danny McBride is equally great - especially during the movie's bloated finale -, and cameos by Bill Hader and James Remar (as a tongue-in-cheek type of general) are memorable and laugh-out-loud funny.
Pineapple Express is not as good as the aforementioned The 40 year old virgin and Knocked Up, but it comes really close. Its main problem is its running time - being almost two hours long, I believe a couple of scenes and gags could've been cut in order to come up with a more tautly-paced version of the movie. It doesn't help either that I've only seen the extended, "unrated" version, although I guess the "normal" version of the film has the same problem - after all, this new version is barely six minutes longer. Still, despite its long running time, Pineapple Express never bored me, as it constantly surprised me with its great performances, hilarious one-liners, pop culture references and overall spoof of action movie conventions and buddy comedy moments. Like most Apatow productions, it is not a comedy in the traditional sense of the word - this one contain quite a lot of violence and some dark moments - but it works beautifully as it is.