Pineapple Express (2008)

Directed by: David Gordon Green
Starring: Seth Rogan, James Franco

I really enjoyed watching a movie that had no intentions other than to be funny, while at the same time, not suck. Whether this was the intention of the film, I don't know, but Seth Rogan and James Franco simply made me laugh for two hours.

Rogan plays Dale, a process serving pot head who dates a high schooler, in other words, he's a loser who witnesses a murder and confides in his pot-dealer Saul (Franco). The murderers attempt to track down Dale and Saul and kill them and nearly do so thanks to their lone clue, a joint of the latest, greatest marijuana, Pineapple Express. This routine plot sends Dale and Saul on the run, something that would normally call for a lot of physical comedy and while there is a fair share of such, that's not the kind of comedy that makes this film so funny.

While seeing James Franco jump into a dumpster garned some laughs, what was truely funny is that he said he didn't want to get out just because he already got in. The delivery of one funny line after another created a banter between characters that was simply brilliant. And that banter is what made these characters, who are just losers with nothing to care about in the world but each other and their weed, so likeable.

The story is simple and it works. The jokes are simple and they work. There was no need for an over the top joke to reel us back into laughing mode because the entire movie just put two real characters into a real situation (not necessarily realistic, just real) and they made me laugh. There was nothing subtle about the comedy... a film is very aware of the fact that its funny when a character beats someone up with a dustbuster, but it didn't shove that awareness in our face. The impression I got was basically, laugh at this if you think its funny. Eventually, we'll have a joke you like. There were several that I liked.

***1/2