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'Pineapple Express' is stone-cold funny

By Steve Persall, Times Film Critic
In print: Wednesday, August 6, 2008

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ADVERTISEMENT [Columbia Pictures] Seth Rogen, left, James Franco and Danny McBride star in Pineapple Express. Rogen co-wrote the script for the pot-smoking comedy. Related Links Hell Ride: So bad it's good Traveling Pants 2: Just not the same

I refuse to testify how hilarious Pineapple Express often can be, on the grounds that it may tend to incriminate me.

Well, not me but everyone I've witnessed smoking copious amounts of marijuana at rock concerts, family reunions and piano recitals. Those folks will think Pineapple Express is a documentary.

Pineapple Express — the title refers to a potent strain of Hawaiian pot — is basically Cheech & Chong & Brad Pitt's True Romance character meet Lethal Weapon, oh, let's say 3. The movie is entirely based on shock comedy, from explicit language and drug usage to ears mutilated by gunfire. It's the perfect movie for viewers too stoned to be discerning.

Anyone who can pass a drug test will have a tougher time enjoying David Gordon Green's raunchy movie, his first comedy after a handful of downbeat indie dramas (George Washington, Snow Angels) that almost nobody watched. Green has a surprising flair for action, with a terrific car chase and a grisly-hilarious brawl. But the humor gets tiring in the second half; the stream-of-consciousness humor goes from stoned inspiration to those mumbles just before someone nods off.

The ubiquitous Seth Rogen co-wrote the script — possibly on rolling papers — and stars as Dale Denton, a process server who smokes a lot of weed, dates a high school student and generally slacks off. Dale's steady dealer is Saul Silver (James Franco, tremendously funny), who spends his days even higher and lazier. His new product Pineapple Express greatly impresses Dale.

During a serving, Dale is enjoying a joint in his car when gunshots ruin his buzz. He witnesses an execution-style murder committed by a drug dealer (Gary Cole) and a police officer (Rosie Perez). They know someone saw the murder. Dale drives away, dropping his joint that the dealer immediately recognizes as Pineapple Express, making it easy to track him down.

Pot means more than plot in Green's movie, the way it turned Saul into a comfortably numb dude prone to rambling "wisdom" and slow-reflex fear, and Dale into a paranoid mess, especially during a disastrous dinner with his girlfriend's parents (Ed Begley Jr., Nora Dunn). Rogen's lumpish persona is getting overexposed but Franco — and Danny McBride as their traitorous pal — lift Pineapple Express to feverishly funny heights.

But the buzz wears off before the running time expires. There's primo comedy in Pineapple Express, but also a lot of artistic stems sand seeds that could have been tossed away.

Steve Persall can be reached at persall@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8365. Read his blog, Reeling in the Years, at blogs.tampabay.com/movies.