Grade: B
It's hard to explain to the majority of people who love it -- still laughing hysterically hours after they've seen the movie -- why...well, how do i put this...not very funny. Pineapple Express is labeled Superbad: The Sequel because it reunites Seth Rogen with Evan Goldberg for another raunchy coming-of-age buddy-buddy film that sparks off from a wrong-place, wrong-time moment. But for me, the similarities end there.
Superbad was about a couple of innocent high school kids who could only fantasize about a life better than their own, the one that's marketed on MTV and by Freddie Prince Jr. -- girls, booze, parties, sex, rebellion. And not so much the opposite -- nerds, porn, and family parties. The rauchiness and the language is in almost every way excusable because they're kids and they don't know any better. But best of all about Superbad, it was relatable. We've all been there, part of the reject crowd or at least not in the incrowd through our puberty-filled childhoods. And for boys/men, the relationship with another boy/man where you show your love but never say your love is a day-to-day affair for us.
Compare that with Pineapple Express, where childhood innocence is more or less replaced by adult stupidity. Substitute puberty with weed, and you've got the pair of Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) and Saul Silver (James Franco). There's the same coming-of-age male love story that happens once again, except this time it's between a drug dealer and his client. I don't relate to that because I'm neither of them and most people wont either. But the difference between me and others is I prefer something real whereas you may prefer the absurdity of this concept and relish in it. If so, my hats off to you.
The funniest parts in the action-comedy (dryhumping, Craig Robinson's lines, foot out the car windshield, hit-and-run, and the dumpster) were already shown during the trailer. And the most action-filled parts were simply not that well...action-filled. If the duo were cops, this film would fit more under Starsky and Hutch (Ben Stiller version) rather than Bad Boys.
Perhaps what is most disturbing to me is the realization that I have been Seth Rogened out. And by that, I mean he plays the same character in every movie, a character that started out brash and funny, but now is just overused and annoying. He's always profanity-laced, yelling on behalf of common sense everywhere while lighting one up. Even though the rest of the world hasn't caught on yet, mark my words: there will be a major backlash on Seth Rogen in the next year or two in the same way that Will Farrell is feeling it now. He may feel like he's on top of the world, but comedy masters fall from the mountain top very quickly unless they reinvent themselves. That's the difference between Jim Carrey and Mike Myers.
I sound much harsher than I really should, though. There were still a few enjoyable aspects to Pineapple Express, the main one being James Franco's performance. I haven't really followed his career though others have told me to keep a close eye. And I'm starting to see what they're talking about. Compared to Rogen's shouts, Franco's high-all-the-time character is brilliantly charming and induces a smile on your face whenever he's onscreen.
This is a film that I desperately wanted to like and even love. But it was one of those films where after half an hour of forcing laughter, it gets draining. And instead of fitting in with the rest of the comedy-induced crowd surrounding me, I just had to admit -- I don't think it's funny. I said it -- go ahead, sue me.
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