Very funny

Rating: 8/10 (10 August 2008)

A stoner comedy/action movie send-up from the Apatow factory. Seth Rogen witnesses a murder and gets his drug dealer, James Franco, mixed up in the mess. The two go on the run as some gangsters search for them. It's very loose and sloppy, with an improvised feeling. There are long stretches where I didn't laugh much, and there are some plot developments that make little sense. Fortunately, much of the film is inspired silliness, and Rogen's and Franco's comic timing is great. I was frequently in tears. Danny McBride and Craig Robinson both give break-out supporting performances. The final sequence in the diner pushes this one for me from pretty good to almost great. I'm not quite sure why David Gordon Green was hired to direct this. Many of the critics who wrote about Pineapple Express went out of their way identifying the elements that belong to him. I'm not a big fan of his art films, but he's a decent director, and anyone could have shot this one, entertaining though it may be.