Pineapple Express Review

Pineapple Express is a comedy that could best be defined as the styles of Jackie Chan, Steven Segal and Cheech and Chong. A slow start and cheap jokes dull the brilliant luster that sometimes sparkles in Pineapple Express.

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a process server who loves to get stoned. He gets his marijuana from Saul Silver (James Franco), a good natured pot dealer. Saul gets a shipment of special pot and sells it to Dale right before he serves a process to a rich drug lord, Ted Jones (Danny R. McBride). Just as he's about to leave his car to serve the paperwork, he witnesses a murder performed by a female cop (Rosie Perez) and Mr. Jones. In his attempts to flee, Dale brings attention to himself. Through unusual investigative techniques Mr. Jones realizes Saul is Dale's dealer. Dale and Saul have to flee to stay alive.

Pineapple Express is, at times, hysterical, but writers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Judd Apatow couldn't avoid throwing in cheap, overused, adolescent jokes that just make the movie uneven and badly timed. They even have the over done "looks like gay sex from a distance." As Pineapple Express progresses, it picks up steam and hurls itself to the other side of comedy with lines that made me explode with laughter. None of that sissy in your nose laughter one keeps to herself because it isn't worth sharing; laughter that wells up so quickly, she has to let it go or her gut might burst. Director David Gordon Green has all the momentum of the previous laughs barreling down the tracks and throws a gas tanker in front when he chooses to use cheap jokes once again.

A great deal of the aforementioned stomach ripping laughter came during "I can't believe they just did that" moments. Pineapple Express proves the rule that comedy is just drama sped up! More than once I wanted to look away from the screen but I could not pull my attention away.

The push pull of timing made watching the movie exhausting and sometimes annoying but overall, I did have a good time. I wouldn't rush back to see it again but it wasn't a waste of time. If you really need a half an hour of really good laughs, then try Pineapple Express.