I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
There's an immediate charm to Pineapple Express. It has the feel of a movie made by a bunch of buddies given a blank cheque. And these buddies, being big fans of 80s action films and lovers of electric puha, thought it best to concentrate on those two key elements. So Seth Rogan doesn't just flop from a rafter onto a bad guy, he gracefully hawks through the air. And when someone brutally shoots the toes off a dead bad guy - a pointless act - it seems the only reason for it is because it would be awesome to do so. Indeed, in context, it is.
Rogen, human incarnate of Fozzie Bear, is an actor with a persona. He plays to it and you get the impression you're seeing the real Seth Rogen - which is his charm. It's an interesting straight man collision with James Franco's brilliant Saul character. He's chilled right out - a rambling 'bum' with a heart of gold - and brings small, natural moments that are so genuine and idiosyncratic you can't not love him. Together these two share some great rambling arguments. Franco plays the optimistic side of the pot smoker's brain, which is the perfect foil to Rogen's paranoid side of the pot smoker's brain.
Director David Gordon Green, a filmmaker known for making small personal films, brings some inventive touches and draws hilarious performances. He and regular cinematographer, Tim Orr, saturate the film with details and an earthy and beige tone. Their eye for the particular creates a world which adds a lot to the film's personality.
But the trademark stamped here is definitely that of writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and producer Judd Apatow. A companion piece to their previous Superbad, Pineapple Express is cut from the same man-love cloth, so it doesn't feel as fresh. As well, the story leans too much on a familiar formula and some of the broader comedy doesn't always hit the mark.
Despite this, I enjoyed this more than any of their other films. The hilarity of the slapdash mayhem, the slick production and extremely likeable performances put a good body length between this comedy and most.
By Paul Scantlebury, Flicks.co.nz
hands down one of the best weed films out there...funny as hellz i laughed all the way through the movie....pictured this happening to me back in the weed days lol
Definitely one of the funniest comedies I've seen in a long time. Great characters. Loved James Franco and Danny McBride. One of the best Apatow productions. OTT action climax part of the joke, I think.
Genuis comedy, this guy has to be the funniest actor around at the moment.
I have only ever walked out in the middle of two movies. I am a very tolerant person but this bored the shit out of me. The only way to get a laugh out of this movie would be to smoke as much pineapple express as possible and not enter the theater. Don't waste your money!
Comedies these days turn to be a real turndown (especially since Tropic Thunder which reached a new level of smart ass attitude: only comics on board were Downey Jr and Cruise which says it all about American comedy nowadays). I can deal with dumb comedy as long as you don't throw Jim Carrey pulling faces in the middle, but when comedy gets lazy then it makes me feel lazy too. In the case of Pineapple Express I could not prevent myself from yawning a few times. Sure James Franco put up a decent performance but I also realised Seth Rogen is not at his best when he is not crude. Knocked up or The 40y.o. Virgin offered better "performance" (in his own unidimensional style). The end of the movie is a bit like Will Smith' superhero Hancock, it is not a comedy anymore it is sort of wannabe action movie with guns blazzing and I still don't have a good laugh. Maybe it was not my day. Overall I expected a lot more, Put it that way, everything that is funny in Pineapple Express is in the trailer.
Fans of David Gordon Green, you may well leave feeling confused. Fans of daft laughs and James Franco, you're in for one of the funniest comedies of the year.
It's with that action aspect that Pineapple Express differs from Apatow's previous production output, and though, the words "taut" and "pulse-pounding" would never apply, the giddily over-the-top fight sequences, choreographed by veteran stunt coordinator Gary Hymes, handily compensate for the lag time.
It's an unshowy, generous performance [by Franco] and it greatly humanizes a movie that, as it shifts genre gears and cranks up the noise, becomes disappointingly sober and self-serious.
Another crazy idea, that mostly works, from the Judd Apatow school of irreverent comedy.
You'll go limp from laughing.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 23rd Oct 2008.
Release date: October 23rd 2008.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
