KNOCKED UP just showed up here at the Labs today on DVD, and I’m about to throw in the deleted scenes. In the meantime, we’ve got another review for what is shaping up as one of the big comedy titles for ’08, the action-comedy from David Gordon Green that I’m hearing rocks as both an action film and as a buddy comedy. Nice trick.
Call me Ace Venturtle. Here's my take:
Funny funny funny funny movie PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is. Just got back from Burbank test screening, haven’t even taken off my hat. I want to get this out to you guys while it’s all still fresh in my head.
In trying to keep it brief and spoiler free, you want to see this movie because this is Apatow improv comedy (knocked up, virgin, superbad) that had a baby with a stoner comedy like Harold and Kumar, and then that offspring then knocked up Hot Fuzz. (no pun intended). What pops out is this weed comedy-action flick that is the Pineapple Express. This is a Judd Apatow movie with shootouts and car chases.
The plot is a bit intricate, so I summed up the setup that puts the story in motion, and put it at the end, so you can a gist of that only if you want to. Don’t worry, there’s nothing there that happens post-inciting incident.
Rogan is as on top of his game you’d expect, but hands down and lighters up for Mr. Franco here for STEALING THIS MOVIE. (You’d think it’d be impossible to steal a movie from Seth Rogan!) Shit, did this guy catch me from out of left field or what? I mean I get plenty of shit from my friends about not being on the up and up with Freaks & Geeks, but damn does he have some comedic chops. This role goes right down there next to Jeff Bridges as The Dude in the stoner movie hall of fame. James Franco fuckin’ abides.
Now don’t think he’s the only scene-stealer whose virtually every line killed. Danny McBride is fucking golden here. People may know him from HOT ROD, and he gets even more time to shine here, and he eats up every bit of it. Having these three guys onscreen simultaneously results in what I can only describe as a constant stream of laughter that literally does not let up through the entirety of any of their scenes.
I don’t have much anything negative to say about it, except that it could shed about 20 minutes off the running time. Gary Cole and Rosie Perez have a few funny scenes, but nothing to write home about.
Apatow and Co. deserve yet another applause, some more movies, and a big time raise.
Oh and if you want, the plot: stoner (Dale/Rogan) getting by as a process server, has this quite friendly, good hearted, super loopy burnt to shit drug dealer (Saul/Franco) who he’s been buying off of for a few months. Though the two are acquainted in that dealer/buyer relationship, they’re not by any means friends. Though Dale is super cool and nice to Saul, he really just wants to bag up his dope and hit and the road, sort of creeped out by the notion of having any more than a casual relationship with his dealer. But Saul genuinely and earnestly wants to be Dale’s friend. So much so that he hooks Dale up with his best shit, which he dubs “Pineapple Express.” Lighting a doobie in his car outside the house of some dude he’s about to go in and serve papers to, Dale witnesses this dude, and a cop, murder some guy through the window. They spot Dale, and he bails. In the midst of fleeing, he tosses the roach out the window. The dude picks it up, and identifies it as Pineapple Express. Dale goes and tells Saul the guy’s name. Turns out this guy is the lone supplier atop the drug dealing pyramid who sells this particular brand of weed, and Saul is the only dealer in town who has it. This pits them together on the run from the drug lord and the cop. Whew, told you it was a handful.
Apatow and Co. deserve yet another applause, more movies, and a big time raise.
