High as a kite  eh, a great summer escape.

Rating: 8/10 (18 August 2008)

One Crazy Night There I was, back in high school, watching two grown men wander the streets of their hometown in search of friends and foe, drugs and dreams. I didn't have to try very hard to see them walk through their front door to standing parents, awaiting their arrival; their disapproving looks saying it all. Before speaking they pause, minds spinning from the night's many adventures, they rewind, trying to start from the beginning. Then, very slowly and seriously, they begin, "You guysI can explain. This could have happened to anyone." Armed with a throwaway job as a Process Server and a mediocre high school girlfriend (the very cute, Amber Heard), Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) has his daily sites set on two things: getting high today and preparation for his high tomorrow. Generally, the only thing deterring him from these goals are the minor obstacles in his path  new costume ideas for the next 'serve', scraping together enough cash for tonight's purchase, calling his girlfriend  and even they rarely seem to keep him from his hazy utopia. In Denton's eyes, he lives in the pinnacle of life's glorious drag, sucking down joints like yesterday's leftovers. Its comic genius, I must admit and no joke is lost among the laborious scenes of everyday puffing.The mellow attitude with which the film opens is only enhanced after we meet Saul Silver (James Franco), Dale's just-as-lazy drug dealer. If Dale's a pothead, I'm not sure where that puts Saul  maybe, Dale in a decade? **Spoiler(s) ahead** The movie stays in its smoky saga only long enough to paint the scene. After Dale witnesses a cop's murder by the hands of a crocked dealer (Gary Cole) and leaves a joint of the infamously rare Pineapple Express at the scene of the crime the movie switches gears after he finally begins fearing for his life after realizing the rare weed's traceability and just like that, we've got a full blown mouse hunt on our hands. Between Silver's lackluster zeal for much of anything and Dale's predisposition to practicality, the jokes are brilliantly normal and the comedy perfectly understandable. What did we expect, really? Every Apatow movie to date has been about the average man; each time finding himself in an increasingly more improbable, but never impossible, situation. Pride yourself on cleanliness and 1980's comic books and you could be a 40 Year-Old Virgin. Hook up with a girl out of your league and both of you could very well be unhappy and Knocked Up. Follow around high school boys trying desperately to swipe the V-card and successfully purchase alcohol with a fake ID and I guarantee you the footage will be Superbad. Pineapple Express is no different. Smoke enough weed in a short period of time and this could actually happen to you, there's not a doubt in my mind.
Don't read me wrong here, this movie becomes more and more outlandish with each passing turn, but the jokes are never too far  save the fighting ninja warriors, those were a bit much, I suppose. After these modern-day Cheech and Chongs realize their notorious stash of PE can be traced back to them, they decide to sprint for the middle man  tweener-dealer Red (Danny McBride) and easily the funniest character of this film (and maybe the entire last year).
Each twist of fortunes finds Red fighting against someone else and by the end of the film the now-famous clip of the neck brace-wearing Red chirping, "thug life" has never rang truer. With the dealer's goons (The Office's Craig Robinson and Superbad's Kevin Corrigan) hot on their tracks, the three underdogs embark on the save-all-except-themselves mission using the PE to finance the necessities: Slurpees and snacks. After Dale gets arrested for blatantly selling to minors, their plan seems thwarted  all hope lost. Arms behind his back, trying to explain to the driving police officer, Dale glances up to see his counterpart  a Slurpee-holding Saul  standing directly in front of the speeding vehicle, willing to take a hit for his friend. The slushy drinks erupt, mostly on the windshield, make the Police cruiser now both their getaway and a seemingly obvious hit-and-run homicide. Misconceptionall one big misconception, but hilarious nonetheless. I wouldn't want to spoil the rest of the film for you, but bottom line: it's worth a watch if you feel like a night off from responsibility.