A platonic love affair amongst potheads...

Rating: 5/10 (27 January 2009)

Seth Rogen is so affable and ingratiating on-screen that, even when he's trying to come off as tough or mean-spirited, you can sense the Jewish teddy bear underneath (he could be the young, screw-up son of Albert Brooks, though neurotic in a more easy-going way). Rogen plays a pot-smoking process server who witnesses a gang hit, giving his identity away when he throws his roach out the window--filled with Pineapple Express, a rare hybrid weed via Canada and Hawaii! This lumpy comedy hits a pothole every now and then, and could've stood some judicious editing (especially during a night scene in the woods, which seems to go on forever). Still, for every fumble there's a funny recovery, either with a sight-gag, some wild action, or clever bits of dialogue ("Oh man, talk radio! It's so boring...your car committed suicide!). The second-half of "Express" surprisingly turns into a rough-and-tumble action flick (with a cartoony undermining); although this development is well-handled, the sweetly stoned comic nuances are nearly lost. Seth Rogen and James Franco prove to be amicable ordinary heroes. Rogen in particular is enjoyably flexible and grounded as an actor--you believe everything he says. This may be a new kind of Method acting. ** from ****