Pineapple Express

Stoners have always been great movie fodder. From Cheech and Chong to Harold and Kumar there’s generally something funny to be found in the pot-smoking antics of a couple of guys who probably have more fun and excitement stoned than anyone in real life does, as they watch stoner movies, smoke up and wear an arse-groove into the seat of their favourite couch.

Directed by David Gordon Green, Pineapple Express again brings together the loosely termed ‘guys’ from Knocked Up and Superbad, this time including Judd Apatow as producer, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen (who wrote the script with pal Evan Goldberg) and James Franco.

Rogen, best known for knocking up Katherine Heigl and then not slapping her around like she deserved, plays Dale, a stoner who’s pretty happy with his lazy life, easy job, and highschool-aged girlfriend (Amber Heard). His new dealer, Saul (James Franco), is hooking him up with the good stuff, including a very new, rare strain named pineapple express. So rare, in fact, that when Dale accidentally witnesses a mob hit, drops the joint and runs, the bad guys can trace it directly back to him.

The most refreshing part about the film, as with most of the gang’s work, is the realism. Instead of doing the stupid things people usually do in this kind of caper, the characters actually think about what they’re doing, all the while stoned and terrified. Getting rid of mobile phones, not using credit cards, sleeping in the woods, and telling your girlfriend’s parents the truth are all things unexplored in this sort of film, when it’s what most of us would probably do if the bad girls were on our trail. There’s no eternal stamina and everlasting bullets here, and the film is all the funnier for it, playing real situations for genuine laughs.

The bad guys are just as funny. Gary Cole as the drug king is underplayed but indispensable when on-screen. Hitmen Budlofsky and Matheson (Kevin Corrigan and Craig Morrison) are evil mirror-images of our heroes, and are well drawn and entertaining, though bad-girl cop Rosie Perez feels like a bit of an afterthought.

Everything about this film is well crafted. The jokes fly thick and fast without being intrusive, melding easily into the already charming script. Rogen is at his best, and James Franco is a welcome surprise, with a winning comedic turn after more restrained roles of the Spiderman ilk. Supporting characters like dealer Red (Danny McBride) and girlfriend Angie are never wasted, and provide some of the best moments. Aesthetically, it’s gorgeous, and flows perfectly, the story always the focus among the whizbang special effects. It’s finally a dope movie with some balls, treating weed and its consequences as a valid subject instead of the mythical fantasy drug most movies make it out to be.

While not as funny or groundbreaking as 40 Year Old Virgin or Superbad, Pineapple Express shows the requisite realism and class comedy we’ve come to expect from the Apatow crew. Totally unmissable.