Review of Pineapple Express (2008)

Exorbitantly silly but hugely enjoyable stoner farce with a dazzling turn from James Franco as the drug-addled dealer, Saul, and strong likeable support from Seth Rogen.
This certainly isn’t a high brow entertainment. It consists of large amounts of stoner-humour, gurning, pratfalling and sheer stupidity but it works so well that you can’t help but sit with a huge grin all the way through.

The main success is the chemistry between duo Saul and Dale. The bromance between them is utterly believable with the relationship going from dislike and distrust, to dependence and appreciation, to the final acts where each would happily sacrifice himself for the other. It’s a heartwarming character arc that grounds what could have been another low-brow gag-fest.
Danny McBride’s side role as fellow drug-dealer Red is also highly enjoyable, especially during the moments when he appears completely impervious to serious injury or full of latent homosexuality for Saul. Gary Cole is amusingly menacing but sadly underused as the drug baron Ted Jones; and Rosie Perez’s corrupt police woman is sharp and vicious.

The narrative is simple and effective and lends itself naturally to both comedic banter and the large action set pieces which escalate in scale as the movie develops, with the epic final battle in the drug warehouse a genius mix of humour and warfare that makes you both tense and laugh.

Pineapple Express makes you nostalgic for all the classic buddy action movies from the 70s and 80s and certainly fills you with gratitude for this faithful and fun reincarnation of the genre.