Every time I saw the trailer for Pineapple Express leading up to its release this weekend, I laughed. I couldn't help it, the movie looked hilarious. There were even a few times where the trailer was funnier than the so-called comedy that it preceded (I'm looking at you, The Love Guru).
Now that the film is here, I was surprised to find that the movie was not quite as funny as the trailers led me to believe. I was also surprised by the level of action in the movie. Besides the laughs, the slapstick, and the pot jokes, there was also gun play, fisticuffs, and a car chase! We are all familiar with the action/comedy, so let us label this as comedy/action. Comedy does come first, but the action is no slouch when it comes right down to it.
Being a Judd Apatow production, it will inevitably be compared to other Apatow branded productions. If I were to place this among the pantheon of Apatow films over the past few years, I would place this above the likes of Drillbit Taylor and Step Brothers, but below Knocked Up, Superbad, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. With that said, this film does have something of a different aesthetic to it. You see, a new voice has been brought into the fold with this movie. That someone is David Gordon Green, better known for indie dramas such as Snow Angels and Undertow. It would be fair to say that this is something of a departure for him.
So, with Pineapple Express, what do we have? We have a comedy about a couple of stoners who inadvertently trigger a violent drug war. Seem like a stretch? It isn't, not really. Once you factor in the events that happen in order for this particular outcome to occur, you are likely to sit back and go "Yeah... I can see how that could happen." If you have any other reaction, this is likely not a movie for you. Then, when you factor in a conclusion that really isn't much of a conclusion, you will realize that this is a stoner movie through and through.
Article comments
1 - Derek Fleek
Loved it. Absolutely loved it. There's plety for the stoner crowd to savor, enough to satisfy action junkies, and it even works for the casual movie goer as a warming buddy flick. Great review bro.
2 - Derek Fleek
*plenty*