Film Review: Pineapple Express.

With the recent successes of ‘Superbad’ and ‘Knocked Up’, it’s not surprising to see Seth Rogen launching another comedic assault on the box office, this time with the oddly titled ‘Pineapple Express’. With Superbad’s production team reunited, Pineapple Express promised to be another hit at the box office.

Pineapple Express stars Seth Rogen as Dale Denton, a twenty-something stoner who seems to have it all going for him; his relationship is working well, he’s got an easy job, and he’s high on the best marijuana he’s ever smoked: Pineapple Express. It’s all going swimmingly, until he witnesses a gang related murder and inadvertently lands himself and dealer Saul (James Franco) right in the middle of a drug war. The story permits for just about everything from shootouts, to family meals, to two guys smoking weed in the woods, and as a result the film never becomes boring.

Pineapple Express reminded me of two of my favourite comedy films; 2007’s Hot Fuzz and Rogen’s own Superbad. The humour is very similar to Superbad; loaded with the gross out, crass and slapstick comedy that we loved in Rogen’s previous outings. But, like Hot Fuzz, the ending half hour of the film is a brilliant and hilarious action romp, full of comedic fight scenes and whacky violence. It’s a brilliant combination, and while it never really meets the standards set by either film, it provides a hell of a lot of entertainment trying.

The stars of Pineapple Express are Seth Rogen and James Franco suit their roles brilliantly. This is the kind of role that was tailored to fit someone like Rogen, so it‘s no surprise he worked so well as the lead. Franco was equally impressive as Saul, but again I’m not that surprised after his seemingly drug-induced performance in Spiderman 3. Both Rogen and Franco have superb comic timing and are incredibly convincing throughout, and I honestly can’t imagine better choices for the lead roles.

With a variety of very good songs, the stand-alone soundtrack is good. But when working with the scenes as well as it does in Pineapple Express, it’s a damn good soundtrack. This is the first film soundtrack that I’ve genuinely considered going out and buying, which I feel says a lot about just how good it is.

Pineapple Express is the funniest film I’ve seen in a while. While it’s not quite as good as Superbad or Knocked Up, it’s still very good, and definitely worth watching if you’re a fan of those two films. A brilliant mixture of hilarious comedy and action combines to create a damn good film.

3/5

See the trailer here.