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Last Updated: Nov 14, 2008 - 12:49:26 PM |
*** 1/2 out of five
Having a hand in eight movies in little over a year, Judd Apatow is, if nothing else, persistent. As a writer, director and producer, he has had a number of surprising hits (Superbad, Knocked Up), as well as a few that fell far short of their mark (Drillbit Taylor, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan). With his latest offering, Pineapple Express, Apatow hits somewhere in the middle.
Here, Apatow’s go-to guy Seth Rogen plays Dale Denton, a pot-smoking process server. While preparing to serve drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole), he witnesses a murder committed by Jones and crooked cop Carol Brazier (Rosie Perez). Panicking, he rushes to the house of his drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) and the two go into hiding, chased by Jones’ henchmen.
When it comes to comedy, Apatow is no slouch. Having already proven himself to be a master of humor, he maintains the streak with Pineapple Express. Franco’s return to comedy is effortlessly done as he steals the show from Rogen. Rogen does equally well with his part, though he stays comfortably in his established niche. If you liked him in any of Apatow’s other productions, you’ll like him here.
As a buddy comedy, or “bromance” as they’ve come to be known, one of the most important things for Pineapple Express to do is to create chemistry between the two lead characters. Once again, Rogen and Franco succeed, creating a hilarious and believable duo. Though clichéd at times – they have a fight, go their separate ways and make up at the end after some life-changing revelation – the buddy system works here, most likely because you aren’t expecting anything more. It’s only trying to be a stupid comedy and that makes it work.
Being a simple comedy, however, doesn’t excuse Pineapple Express from criticism. Apatow’s decision to splice comedy with heavy action isn’t necessarily a bad one; after all, it worked for Rush Hour and Bad Boys. Apatow forgot one thing though.
Either stay realistic or stay unbelievable.
Many of the deaths are incredible realistic and shocking, something that you might expect from an actual action or horror film. Though a bit unexpected for the typical buddy comedy, it could still work if it stayed consistent. However, all consistency gets thrown out the window with the character of Red, played by Danny McBride. As other characters are killed brutally in explosions and car accidents, Red is beaten to a pulp and shot several times, yet is able to eat at a diner before seeking any kind of medical attention. It’s too realistic to be a farce and too much of a farce to be realistic, critically injuring an otherwise decent movie.
Despite its flaws, Pineapple Express isn’t a bad film. If you can overlook the steady weaving from the realistic to the wholly unbelievable, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Pineapple Express has a runtime of 111 minutes and is rated R for language, drug use, sexual content, and violence. It was viewed at Commonwealth 20.
nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421
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