Movie Review: Judd Apatow's Pineapple Express
By Sarah Vasques
14:14, August 8th 2008
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Movie Review: Judd Apatow's Pineapple Express

Amateurs of belly laughs will be delighted to discover that this weekend a new comedy is prepared to smooth the foreheads of moviegoers. “Pineapple Express” is the brand new production that bears the signature of an iconic name in the domain, Judd Apatow.

What is outstanding about this movie is that Apatow’s style is slightly changed, so those of you who have already labeled the movie as ‘superficial’ should pay attention (you might reconsider you stereotyped opinion). For those of you who are Apatow’s fans, good news: the fun is augmented.

The epitomic director has created a genre that can be clearly distinguished from all the others. Lots of ludicrous moments that inevitably generate lots of laughs, many lewd scenes scattered here and there in the plot. But most of all, Apatow has cultivated the relationship between boys. These dudes’ relationship is fully (and successfully) exploited in “Pineapple Express,” a connection that takes the proportions of a romance; we can clearly distinguish moments that are subtle substitutes of flirts or foreplays.

This is the one major change. Then, we have another: everything becomes subtle. No more full perspectives on ‘masculine jewelries’ as Apatow has accustomed us (however, the movie got an ‘R’ rating for ‘pervasive profanity, drug use, sexual references and violence”). We most probably can blame (or thank!) David Gordon Green for that. Green, having a background including indie dramas like “George Washington,” “All the Real Girls,” “Snow Angels” probably tempered the Apatow-esque animus.

The movie focuses on two men, who at first have a distant relationship based on some transactions and who get closer and closer, brought together by some deadlock-ish circumstances. Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a process server who turns to Saul Silver (James Franco) from time to time to get some pot, as the latter is his dealer. Of course, seeing the two of them, moviegoers will have some deja-vu’s from last summer’s “Superbad” or from TV series “Freaks and Geeks.” But rest assured that “Pineapple” is an entertaining production.

The action kicks off when Silver gives Denton a sample of a special hybrid of pot, called Pineapple Express. The dealer describes this new strain picturesquely: “It's like God's vagina” and consuming it seems a profanity: “like killing an unicorn.” Denton gets high only by smelling it. But the exceptional drug attracts some exceptional situations afterwards. On his way to deliver a subpoena, Denton witnesses the murder of a man by a crooked cop and another man. But the latter is Ted Jones (Gary Cole), who is in fact Silver’s drug provider.

Stunned by what he has witnessed, Denton drops the pot sample at the crime scene and therefore attracts the murderers on his track. And Silver’s, as he runs to him to tell him everything. Now the adventures begin. Car chases, guns, fights, plus some clumsy and amusing moments that give the movie all the salt and pepper it needs to be extremely entertaining. (No more spoiling!)

Should anyone dismiss the comedy as reeled-off humor without seeing it, that person is even more superficial. The Apatow genre has evolved and looks promising, therefore don’t judge a book by its cover or a movie by the tradition of its producer. “Pineapple Express” is more than “another teenage movie” and it surely delves into men’s relationship, all with great humor.



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