Apatow, Rogen and Goldberg serve up another hysterical comedy

Rating: 9/10 (11 August 2008)

While Pineapple Express does not have the heart of Knocked Up or the raunchiness of Superbad, it does not try to replicate it. Instead, it tackles a different genre: the stoner comedy, mixed with the violence action-comedy. Pineapple Express contains consistently funny moments, oddball scenarios and gory fights and gunplay. This is what lifts it above the recent bland comedies.
The film focuses on 25 year old Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), process server and pothead and Saul Silver (James Franco), the constantly stoned dealer. After Dale becomes witness to a drug lord and crooked police officer kill a criminal in cold blood, he goes on the run with Saul. Along the way Dale has to deal with Angie, his 18 year old girlfriend and finding ways out of complicated situations while under the influence.
Rogen and Franco, real-life friends since "Freaks and Geeks", have some of the best on screen chemistry I have seen in a "buddy comedy." They naturally bounce the jokes off each other, be it scripted or ad-libbed. These two are also the films strength in the fact that they are not the stereotypical action hero. You know...buffed, one-liner spouting robot killing machines. These guys are more realistic and paranoid, much like a normal person would be when being hunted by immoral criminals who just want you dead. They figure out how they can be traced (by phone and credit card), they freak out (and take pot to calm their nerves), they run to wherever they can think of, they try to leave town and they are even honest to other police and friends. Personally, I would be just like them in a situation like that and that helps in relating to the heroes. Even when they use guns, they are utterly hopeless by looks (blind firing, etc), however, their accuracy is a tad too high for constantly high slackers.
And on the action, it is very convincing in its messiness and bloodiness. Most of it is just beating the absolute sense out of the other, and this makes it amusing in its complete randomness. Surprisingly, Pineapple Express works incredibly well as an action flick, which is odd. However, the comedy certainly outweighs the action, with the laughs coming thick and fast. Franco should do more comedy, as his Saul is one of the funniest characters I have ever had the pleasure of watching on screen. Rogen is proving to be the best comic actor currently working (because truthfully, Adam Sandler is utter garbage)! Danny McBride provides hilarious support as Red, the indestructible dealer and Bill Hader makes an excellent cameo. Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson as hit men Budlofsky and Matheson are a nice touch. Beyond these, though, the rest of the support aren't up to scratch. Gary Cole and Rosie Perez's stock villains merely shift the story along and Dale's love interest Angie is discarded towards the end.
However, the minor issues aside, director David Gordon Green has created a hit with Pineapple Express and should please most fans of Apatow's previous work. This one is definitely the best of his films, in my opinion, thanks to the two leads, exhilarating action and some solid focus on the two main characters relationship.
4½/5