Review of Pineapple Express (2008) by Harry W — 14 Jan 2014

Pineapple Express is undoubtably one of the funniest comedy films ever made and definitely the finest stoner comedy available to everybody worldwide.

Pineapple Express offers so much as a comedy because it takes the stoner comedy genre and adds in elements of a buddy film and some awesome action sequences as well which makes it all one big awesome comedy film which maximises the talents of David Gordon Green's skills as a film director as well as the same writing talents that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg used to bring us Superbad.

The script is great for many reasons, because among other things it takes into account many story aspects that films tend not to do, such as the fact that after becoming involved in such threatening situations the characters put hope into the idea of things just getting back to normal soon after. Films tend not to do that, they tend to get a lot more involved in the story than their characters want to but in Pineapple Express' case it acknowledges the idea that it's characters may want to pretend it all never happened. Because when something negative happens, one of the first thing a person tends to do is wish it never happened or try to move on from it, and Pineapple Express knows this and uses it. As well as that, it's just f*cking hilarious because the dialogue is so realistic and natural that it makes its characters all realistic and therefore easier to connect to, and it even has some sick one-liners in there which are all delivered perfectly.

And one other element that makes Pineapple Express superior to many other comedies of similar calibre is the fact that the cinematography is absolutely excellent. It explores the scenes from various angles and techniques which ensures that it remains constantly very atmospheric and has a strong feel to it.

And along with a strong soundtrack and some strong editing, Pineapple Express succeeds as a great visual experience.

But the cast is what makes it such a powerful film.

Seth Rogen was a hilarious lead in Pineapple Express because he manages to perfect the schizophrenically suspect nature of Dale Denton which is much like many of the stoned people of the real world who try to keep the stoned world away from the real world. It's hard to explain, but Seth Rogen manages to pack a great punch as a comedic lead.

But it is James Franco who dominates the screen in Pineapple Express because he gives the single greatest performance of his career in Pineapple Express, and that includes his Academy Award nominated performance in 127 Hours. The thing that makes his performance flawless is that he's so far from anything else he's ever played. Usually he's some kind or cocky or heroic figure, but in Pineapple Express he is the furthest thing from that. He's completely whacked out and different looking, and it's utterly hilarious how he acts because he completely nails the stoner stereotype with his manner of speaking and attitude towards everything. He just always feels genuinely stoned, and every aspect of him is just hilarious. I mean his performance is worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor if anything because it's perfectly convincing and sympathetic as well as just damned hilarious.

Danny McBride was also hilarious because it's from before he was so well known worldwide and he shows off the kind of hilarious charisma and line delivery that he used to make Eastbound and Down one of the funniest shows ever. He has a great chemistry with all other characters and.

Gary Oldman gives his best performance since Office Space, because he captures an intimidating villainous persona as Ted Jones which is strongly angry and fearful.

Rosie Perez uses her exotic voice and talent for hyperactivity to give a powerfully funny performance.

And Craig Robinson goes so over the top and badass, nothing like the role the made him famous on The Office. He goes as gangster as Danny Glover or Jamie Foxx, and he says some hilarious stuff in his role which manages to be constantly hilarious and convincing.

Amber Heard also gives a convincing performance in her brief role, and Ed Begley Jr. delivers one hilarious line with such serious domination and strength.

Lastly, Ken Jeong supplies the over the top stereotypical angry Asian persona he always adds to his films and the final product is hilarious.

I can't stress this enough, Pineapple Express achieves practically too much on a budget of only $25 million which proves that great filmmaking isn't about the money, it's about having good material and strong filmmaking. It's hilarious, it's entertaining and it's perfectly acted, so without a doubt it hits my list of best comedy films ever.