Pineapple Express

2/5

I don't know why so many movie critics are hailing Pineapple Express as the summer's best comedy. The movie stars Seth Rogen in exactly the same character he played in Knocked Up, Superbad, and 40 Year Old Virgin. This stoner comedy is heavy on the cheap laughs, but light on substance.

When Dale Denton (Rogen), a young process server that dresses up in costumes just to mess with his targets minds, witnesses a murder, he and his drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) hit the road. The murderers are Ted Jones, a yuppie drug dealer, and Carol, a female cop. The two stoners spend the night in the woods, suffering from paranoia. The next day, they meet with Silver's supplier, Red (Danny McBride), who has already been contacted by two goofy henchmen of Mr. Jones. After a few twists in turns, this druggy buddy movie ends up at a marijuana farm in the middle of nowhere, where Ted Jones and his half-witted goons trade pot shots with the Koreans, another rival drug cartel.

It is conceivable that Rogen was high for the entire pre-production, shooting, and editing of this film. The entire thing is a spoof, defying cliches (i.e. sissy henchmen), but the characters are so predictable that when the film closes in a restaurant as Dale, Saul and Red laugh hysterically about their deranged, newfound friendship, I found myself relieved that it was over.

The one redeemable sequence of the film is the opening, where a top secret military lab is research the effects of marijuana back in the 1950's. Bill Hader plays Private Miller, who is the test subject in question. The commanding officer observes the effects of the pot, calls up a congressman, and yells "Illegal!" A rather funny treatment of the marijuana debate in the United States. But from there it was all downhill, until my wife kept walking in and out to talk to her mother on the phone.

The film didn't put me to sleep, but that's because I was constantly debating whether or not to walk out and sneak into the Dark Knight.