Written by Seth Rogan, Evan Goldberg, and Judd Apatow
Rogan plays stoner Dale who witnesses a murder and drags his even stonier dealer Saul on the run from the police and rival gangs. Actually Rogan, as in all his films, only plays Rogan, but his act is a good fit here, though he is overshadowed by James Franco's turn as Saul, perhaps the best stoner performance since the immortal Spicoli. He really is great here and puts real emotion and depth into what could have been a one-trick role.
I really enjoyed the film but here's my complaint. Pineapple Express doesn't know if it wants to be a pot comedy, a dark comedy, or an action comedy, and the transitions between these three genres is jarring. Act One is all good fun and jokes, full of slapstick and zingers. The film takes a shockingly graphic turn in Act Two as Red (Danny McBride), Saul's weed supplier, is seemingly killed execution style by some hit men. The entire film suddenly takes a seriously darker turn as things fall apart for Dale and Saul. Yet in Act Three Pineapple Express shifts into full on John Woo style action as our incompetent stoners takes on the bad guys with guns blazing and... wait for it... ninjas. Yes, machine gun toting ninjas.
Staring Seth Rogan, James Franco, Danny McBride
The Apatow/Rogan comedic machine keeps on rolling, but sooner or later the wheels have to fall off the bus, right? Well, not this year, because Pinapple Express is what all pot films need to be, at times hilarious, at times head scratchingly weird.
Rogan plays stoner Dale who witnesses a murder and drags his even stonier dealer Saul on the run from the police and rival gangs. Actually Rogan, as in all his films, only plays Rogan, but his act is a good fit here, though he is overshadowed by James Franco's turn as Saul, perhaps the best stoner performance since the immortal Spicoli. He really is great here and puts real emotion and depth into what could have been a one-trick role. 
I really enjoyed the film but here's my complaint. Pineapple Express doesn't know if it wants to be a pot comedy, a dark comedy, or an action comedy, and the transitions between these three genres is jarring. Act One is all good fun and jokes, full of slapstick and zingers. The film takes a shockingly graphic turn in Act Two as Red (Danny McBride), Saul's weed supplier, is seemingly killed execution style by some hit men. The entire film suddenly takes a seriously darker turn as things fall apart for Dale and Saul. Yet in Act Three Pineapple Express shifts into full on John Woo style action as our incompetent stoners takes on the bad guys with guns blazing and... wait for it... ninjas. Yes, machine gun toting ninjas.All that being said, I lol'ed several times and will put Pineapple Express up as one of the top comedies of the year.
Movie Cheetah's Grade: B
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