Pineapple Express

August 3, 3008

Independent master David Gordon Green leaves behind his Terrance Malick poetics for a Judd Apatow weed comedy, starring co-writer Seth Rogan as a pothead on the run with his sweet natured dealer (James Franco) after witnessing a murder by drug lord Gary Cole. Rogan and Evan Goldberg's follow up to the successful “Superbad” has the same kind of humor and heart, especially in the budding friendship between Rogan's Dale and Franco's Saul, two lazy stoners whose only previous relationship to each other was through routine weekly drug deals, while Green uses the murder-and-chase plot to expertly satirize the genre with hilarious bursts of comedic violence. Danny McBride has a scene stealing supporting role as a fellow drug dealer who gets involved in the conspiracy, and there's funny work from Cole, Rosie Perez, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, and Ed Begley Jr., but the key to the film's success is the partnership between Rogan and Franco, who eschew the obvious Cheech and Chong characterizations for a more realistic, slightly homo-erotic, and ironic take on male friendship. This is the funniest movie of the year so far, another knockout for Apatow and his growing stable of comedy stars, and a fine debut for Green outside of his comfortable independent arena.

By Adam Suraf

asuraf@DunkirkMA.net