Pineapple Express: Review By MovieBuff

Most stoner movies don't do extremely well at the box office. Most stoner movies make anywhere from 10 million (those that bomb) to about 50 million (successful ones). Well... now I can say that there may be a movie that will surpass those kind of totals. Not because of the drugs... but because how hilarious this movie really is.

Seth Rogan and James Franco are extremely funny in this flick and are perfect for their characters Dale Denton and Saul Silver. The wild adventure they take us on and their dialogue with each other is just hysterical.

Where Quentin Tarantino is a master at everyday dialogue (two hitmen talking about the metric system in Pulp Fiction), the screenplay writers for this movie (Seth Rogen and Evan Goldber) simply took everyday dialogue and made it funny. How many times have we experienced something serious and scary, then laughed about it with friends later... even if it was at our expense. The diner scene at the end was just hilarious. You'll see what I mean when you see the movie.

The one liners were absolutely great. James Franco - "This is so rare its almost a crime to smoke it. It's like killing a Unicorn". hahaha If you don't think that line is funny, you will when you watch the movie. As well as many other lines from these characters.

The situations they're placed in are funny too. There is a fight scene between Rogen, Franco, and Danny McBride that will blow your mind. Also a car chase that will have you rolling around the theater floor in stitches. This movie has pretty much everything... fight scenes, drugs, car chases, gun play, hitmen, stoners, drug dealers, corrupt cops, good cops, asian drug lords, a romance between a 26 year old and an 18 year old high school hottie, and of course... the pineapple express.

The story has a good foundation. Dale Denton is a process server who does weed on a consistent basis. He gets his drugs from a guy he met two months prior, Saul Silver. They've grown to like each other in those two months, but are not really close friends. During one of his serving duties, Denton witnesses a murder and flees the scene. Thinking the killers may have recognized him and may go to his house to kill him , he decides that Saul's place is safer... that is until he realizes that the killers know who Saul is and are probably heading there as they speak (you'll see how the killers find that out when you see the movie). The adventure begins as they go on the run from the hitmen. And the ride that ensues is fantastic.

The acting is fabulous. As I said before, Rogen and Franco are perfect for the characters of Dale Denton and Saul Silver. They are hysterical together. Danny McBride is also very funny in the scenes he appears in. The trio are a perfect comical team. I've never really liked Rosie Perez as an actress (maybe its that whiney voice, I don't know) so I wasn't too high on her part in the movie, but other than that.. the movie is great.

The directing and visuals get "high" (haha) ratings from me. Very well done. The director (David Gordon Green) made sure the fight scenes were realistic (and funny)... unlike the choreographed action sequences we usually get in action movies. I thought it was quite amusing when McBride begins punching Rogen in the ass because he doesn't have anywhere else to punch (you'll see why when you see the scene). Or when Franco tries to kick a windshield out and gets his foot stuck instead (you see that in the trailer). This was some funny sh*t.

The movie is rated R due to the drug use, sexual references, violence, and pervasive language, but its great in my opinion. Although I'm giving it 4 1/2 stars.. in no way do I think its half a star from being equal to the The Dark Knight. We have to remember this is a different genre. I'm judging this movie for what it is. A comedy. And as far as COMEDIES are concerned... this is one of the funniest ones I've seen in a long time.