On Screen / Linda Cook

Movie Review: 'Pineapple Express' is HIGH-larious

By Linda Cook | Friday, August 29, 2008 | () comments

Seth Rogen, left, and James Franco, right, attend a special screening, hosted by Three Olives, of the film Pineapple Express in New York, Tuesday, Aug., 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)

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"Pineapple Express"

3 1/2 stars

Running time: One hour and 45 minutes

Rated: R for drug abuse, foul language and violence

Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny R. McBride, Kevin Corrigan and Amber Heard

Director: David Gordon Green

Screenwriters: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

It’s HIGH-larious.

"Pineapple Express" is the latest in the genre known as "stoner comedies." Its forebears are "Up in Smoke," and, more recently, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle."

Please understand two things before you proceed: This is only for grownups, and it’s not for those who are easily offended. That’s why it’s rated R. Anyone who would consider taking kids to this would have to be, well, chemically altered.

And chemically altered is, in fact, what the characters have on their minds. Here’s Dale Denton (Seth Rogen, “Knocked Up”), who makes a living, sort of, as a process server. Dale gets high all day long as he carries out his assignments. When he’s not smoking pot, he’s spending time with his girlfriend, a high school girl named Angie (Amber Heard).

One day, after a visit to his drug dealer, Saul (James Franco), Dale happens to see a slaying, a homicide that involves a cop (Rosie Perez) and a drug lord (Gary Cole). Dale leaves some evidence — a roach, or remnant, of the coveted “Pineapple Express” marijuana — at the crime scene and flees to Saul’s house to inform him that the killers may now be after them.

Dale’s right: Thugs are looking for him and Saul. And the buddy film mayhem (which is truly violent, by the way) that ensues is quite entertaining in a sort of “Three Stooges Meet Quentin Tarantino” way.

I loved the nods to prior adult-focused films. This one even has the “Gross Ear Factor” present in such pictures as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Blue Velvet.” There’s a little dab of “Pulp Fiction” and a bit of “Midnight Run” along with a smattering of other flicks. But the screenplay remains true to itself and never becomes a rip-off of anything else.

As for Saul, you haven’t seen a stoner this lovable since Jeff Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Franco’s delivery and physical timing couldn’t be better. Rogen, as always, is a great comedic Everyman. And Cole is terrific as the drug lord. He’s just great at providing the right amount of sleaze and self-importance to create a detestable bad guy.

The movie drew huge crowds when it opened Wednesday. It’s smart, it’s funny and it’s an instant cult hit for grownups — even for those who’ve never heard of Cheech and Chong.

Linda Cook reviews movies for the Quad-City Times and KWQC-TV. Contact her at lcook@qctimes.com.