The Case for Pineapple Lumps

I think it was in keeping with the Pineapple Express that, coming out of the film, I had a short spell of trouble with my depth perception. It was an odd sensation, keeping not only with the stoner ethos of the film, but also the fairly two dimensional characters within it.

Now, I went to this film because of Seth Rogan. He has a slobbish, roguish charisma about him that I find hilarious, and in this film he is the charming person I find him to be. Considering he helped write the film, the fact his character plays on Seth Rogan’s strengths is not that surprising. Considering the film was probably written while all the writers were high, one can understand the path the film takes.

From a fairly routine, entertaining beginning, with encounters with people from all walks of life, the Pineapple Express starts off fairly amiably. We eventually meet ex Freaks and Geeks alumnus James Franco as the Dealer, and then the movie swings into a buddy movie with the two leads mixed up in crazy drug cartel shenanigans.

Which is really (for me) where the fun faded. Gone were most attempts at witty banter, abandoned in favour of physical comedy with a splash of violence and lots of guns. Character tones shift and change (humourous to deadly serious; shifty to comic relief to “pull through in the end”) and the budlove of the main characters rings hollow.

Perhaps the ultra-long running time jaded my enjoyment of the film. Which, to be fair, I did enjoy. But, this movie about a “slacker” had the feel of a film written by slackers, so the promise of the concept and of the leads is wasted, with the resulting film likeable but forgettable.

Verdict: I am sure, had I been stoned at the screening, would have improved my overall impression of the film. As it was, I enjoyed the Pineapple Express, but that was about it. Six reefers out of ten.