Pineapple Express

It took me two viewings to really start grooving on the latest Judd Apatow comedy, Pineapple Express and even the second time around I didn’t come away with a complete contact high. This fitfully funny, but wildly uneven picture tries to blend a stoner comedy with an ’80s action movie and the two genres never really fit together comfortably. Fortunately, the cast is good enough that they are usually able to carry you through some of the film’s rougher spots. Seth Rogen, who also co-wrote the film, stars as Dale Denton, a slovenly process server with a serious pot addiction and aspirations of being a radio talk-show host. After picking up some choice weed from his dealer Saul (James Franco), Dale is relaxing in his car, enjoying his latest purchase when he sees a guy get shot in the head by a local drug kingpin (Gary Cole) while a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) looks on. Speeding away from the scene of the crime, the addled stoner can’t think of anyplace to go except right back to his dealer’s pad, where he convinces Saul that it’s vitally important they both go on the lam. At this point, Pineapple Express essentially becomes a chase movie, with Dale and Saul on the run from Cole, Cole’s enforcers (played hilariously by Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan) and a crew of Asian gangsters. Also in the mix is Saul’s own weed supplier Red (Danny McBride), who initially tries to aid their enemies before crossing over to the good side. As you can tell, there’s a lot going on in Express and director David Gordon Green can’t quite keep up with the movie’s pace. The fact that this is his first experience directing a comedy doesn’t exactly help matters. Unlike Apatow, Green doesn’t have a great feel for his actors’ rhythms; he allows some scenes to run on way too long, while others feel ultra-abbreviated, ending before anything really funny happens. He’s also not certain how to direct Rogen, a very funny guy who needs a strong presence behind the camera to help him deliver an actual performance, not just a series of riffs. The other thing that might catch viewers (myself included) off guard at first is how violent the movie is. I enjoy a good bloodbath as much as the next guy, but you don’t exactly expect to see a dude get his ear bitten of in a gory close-up in a Judd Apatow production. All this said, I have to admit that the movie plays better on a second viewing, once you’ve adjusted your expectations to what it is rather than what you imagined it would be. The one element that worked each time I saw it was Franco’s brilliant turn as Saul, a marvelous comic tour-de-force that ranks amongst the best pot performances ever captured on film. In fact, I’d watch a Saul solo sequel in a heartbeat, particularly if he somehow managed the make the acquaintance of Harold and Kumar. Pineapple Express itself may not be perfect, but Franco’s performance pretty much is.

Also in Theaters

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Shot in beautiful black-and-white, this ultra low-budget drama revolves around an unlucky-in-love twentysomething who has a day-long date with an overly chatty gal on New Year’s Eve. Resemblances to Richard Linklater’s classic Before Sunrise and Before Sunset flicks may not be intentional, but they’re impossible to ignore as we watch these two characters wander around Los Angeles talking about life, the universe and everything. Talk-a-thons like this live and die on the strength of the performances and while the two leads start out fairly insufferable, we grow to like them over the course of the film’s slender 90-minute runtime. I don’t know that I’d recommend anyone rush out to the theater to see this (and, truth be told, it won’t be out for very long anyway) but it’ll undoubtedly play well on DVD or cable.

Red

Brian Cox a.k.a. The Original Hannibal Lecter delivers another strong performance as a senior citizen in a small Texas town who seeks justice against the three young kids that murdered his dog in cold blood. After his appeals to the shooter’s father (Tom Sizemore, who could almost be playing himself) go unheeded, he enlists a lawyer and a TV journalist to put pressure on the D.A. to prosecute the case. But his assailants strike back, repeatedly threatening his life and burning his store to the ground. Although it’s a little difficult to believe the way the violence escalates, Cox is heartbreaking as a tortured soul just trying to stand up for what’s right.