The Judd Apatow comedy factory is at it again, cranking out yet another vehicle for slackers to get their share of laughs. In the tradition of “Superbad” and “Knocked Up,” incidentally two comedies in which Seth Rogen was either the star or writer or both, along comes “Pineapple Express” where Rogen wears multiple hats as a key player in front of and behind the camera. For such a busy guy, it’s interesting that he’s usually playing the goof or loafer with a serious lack of motivation.
Not surprisingly, “Pineapple Express” offers more of the same for Rogen in his role as Dale Denton, a giant loser with a serious fondness for weed. A disheveled process server who stalks his prey with a variety of costumes, Dale is not going anywhere in life, a point underscored by the fact that he’s dating barely legal high school girl Angie (Amber Heard).
Dale has a grudging business relationship with the laconic drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco), deigning to visit his shabby apartment only to purchase some of the primo product. Unable to form complete thoughts into coherent sentences, Saul seems to be enjoying a rare new strain of marijuana called Pineapple Express.
Perhaps too stoned to know better, Saul appears only too willing to turn a business relationship into something more meaningful, if only to engage in some conversation beyond a transaction for illicit contraband.
While staking out a residence in an attempt to deliver a subpoena, Dale witnesses a cold-blooded murder committed by the city’s most dangerous drug lord, Ted Jones (Gary Cole), who’s assisted in this crime by a crooked cop (Rosie Perez).
Fleeing the scene of the crime in great haste, Dale drops the remnants of his Pineapple Express joint. This piece of smoking evidence, of course, is all that the evil drug lord and dishonest cop need to pick up a trail leading right back to the drug-dealing Saul.
When Ted’s goons arrive on the scene, Dale and Saul are suddenly thrust into a wild odyssey that puts them on the run, after discovering they are not just suffering from pot-induced paranoia. The long, weird journey to escape harm puts them in some awkward and often bloody, violent situations, such as when they confront drug middleman Red (Danny McBride), who’s only too eager to sell out his buddy Saul when pushed around by nasty, brutal thugs.
Only slightly less frightening is the encounter that the duo must endure by showing up for dinner at Amber’s house, since Dale had promised so many times to meet her parents (Ed Begley Jr. and Nora Dunn), who are in turn absolutely stunned and appalled by Dale’s erratic behavior. Of course, it’s absurd that Dale is going through this courtship effort when his life is in mortal danger.
For all their attempts at a getaway, Dale and Saul are slightly more consumed with a nearly insatiable desire to keep sampling the potency of Pineapple Express. This puts the loopy guys in more danger, though Dale appears more tuned into their predicament than the largely oblivious Saul. At one point, Saul thinks that hiding in a dumpster may be the best alternative to constant flight.
The charm, if that’s the appropriate word, of “Pineapple Express” is the developing friendship between the more uptight Dale and the perpetually unaware Saul. In a relationship forged by circumstances, these putative buddies have a weird, genial bond that makes them likable even when things get violently out of control in the climactic showdown with warring drug gangs.
Chemistry (an interesting word to use when talking about a drug-fueled plot) is very much present between Seth Rogen and James Franco. These guys are fun to watch, even in the most stressed-out situations. “Pineapple Express” is probably the best stoner comedy since the first “Harold and Kumar” movie, when the love of weed made the principals crave White Castle burgers. Meanwhile, Judd Apatow is just hoping that the target audience will crave this brand of humor, and most likely the younger crowd will prove more accepting of the elements of gross-out comedy mixed with violence.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
Since the film reviewed this week is a Judd Apatow comedy, maybe it is only fitting to bring to your attention the DVD release of the raunchy teen comedy “Legacy,” the story of three sorority beauties who will have everyone watching their backs.
Haylie Duff stars as Lana Stevens, the hottest coed at the Omega Kappa house, who’s forced to accept one of the most unpopular girls on campus as her new sorority sister. But when this geeky pledge is found dead at a party, Lana and her two best friends become prime suspects in a murder investigation, lead by the intense and determined Detective Strasburg (Tom Green).
Full of tortured laughs, catfights, sex and murder, “Legacy” sounds just right for the Apatow crowd.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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