Review: Pineapple Express

Or: you know… like… that stoner movie…

Judd Apatow strikes again with another film targeted toward the same crowd as his last films. You know, the kids who liked Superbad and Knocked Up. Now, personally, I’m not a very big fan of Apatow’s work, but I have to say that Pineapple Express was actually pretty good. Returning is Seth Rogen, who plays the same role in pretty much every film, but hey, maybe its because he’s good at it. Making an appearance in the film is John Franco as Rogen‘s dealer and best (only) friend.

The film follows the duo as they try to escape angry drug dealers after witnessing a drug kingpin and a cop commit a murder. The movie is filled with action, which may come as a surprise to most people, but it actually works pretty well. Plenty of people have told me that it gets more ‘action-packed’ towards the end, but I thought that it was pretty decently ‘packed’ all the way through.

All in all, it’s as much a homage as it is a parody of big budget action movies. But off course, the main source of humor for this film comes from the main character’s’ marijuana usage. This can get a bit old, as you’ll start to feel as if you’ve heard the same joke over and over throughout the film, but as long as it’s a good joke, right?

Kudos that must be paid to the movie in that it neither explicitly encourages or scorns marijuana use, and, while it is a main plot point, its usage tends to just be there, rather than be a big factor of controversy in the plot. Well… for the most part.

However, it feels like we’ve seen this movie before, in Apatow’s earlier works. If you’ve seen Knocked Up or Superbad, then you’ll be familiar with this same brand of humor. This means that the movie may already seem old, even as you’re just starting out.

All in all, though, if you have to pick from an Apatow film, I’d recommend this one, not terrific, but not bad. Go watch it with some friends.