Review of Pineapple Express (2008) by Melvin W — 15 Aug 2012

Saul: It's almost a shame to smoke it. It's like killing a unicorn... with, like, a bomb. .

"Put This in Your Pipe and Smoke It.".

Pineapple Express is one of my favorite stoner comedies of all-time. It "hits" all the "high" points that it needs to. It also pulled a great and soon to be classic performance out of James Franco as Saul the drug dealer/stoner. Everything he does, from his mannerisms to how he talks to what he says is a perfect parody/impersonation of a stoner. His performance doesn't reach the level of say Sean Penn in Fast Times, but it is one of the best stoner performances I have ever seen.

Dale and his drug dealer, Saul, end up on the run from a corrupt cop and a major drug kingpin Ted. Their experience takes them through shootouts, fist fights, car chases, and wooded adventures. There are some classic scenes in this film. I especially love the woods scene. It's a perfect piece of pothead paranoia and is actually not far from some experiences you've had while smoking the cannabis. .

The film has its share of problems. I won't deny that at all. Still this is a film that I can watch and re-watch and watch again. People who aren't laughing after the first scene where we see where the prohibition of marijuana came from should just give up on it there, because it's a sign of the humor to come. This is strictly a drug comedy. Sure there are elements of other forms of comedy, slapstick and sex comedy included; but as The 40 Year Old Virgin was to sex comedies, Pineapple Express is to drug comedies.

If you're a fan of this genre, you'll absolutely love this film. If you aren't, you still might like it because it's better than 90% of drug comedies. So give it a try. You may not like it, but then again you may be like me and won't be able to stop laughing. If you want a little help with the experience, toke up beforehand. You'll be howling.