Stoner comedies have been given a bad name in recent years, from last year’s Smiley Face all the way back to How High some seven years ago, but proving his mettle once again with the grip of a pen, Seth Rogen with Pineapple Express will win hoards of fans back.
Rogen plays process server, and serial stoner, Dale Denton, whom while sitting in waiting to deliver the latest subpoena witnesses a murder by the local drug lord and a policewoman. Fraught with panic, Dale races back to his dealer Saul Silver (Franco), and for fear of the gang tracking them down, the pair drive off to hide in the forest for the night.
As Dale and Saul start to unravel the mess they’ve found themselves in, two gun-toting henchmen only ever one step behind, prove the paranoia is more than your average weed-induced worry, as Pineapple Express branches into the action realm with car chases and fire fights.
With Seth Rogen on screen and penning the film, you’d expect Pineapple Express to serve up a good deal of laughs, but back by a reinvigorated James Franco and the emerging talents of Danny McBride, the end product is 2008’s funniest film to date.
Despite the final action sequence lasting just that bit too long, in America alone the film has already made its budget back three times over and after the first trip, you’ll be equally impressed a second or third time around.
4/5