Pineapple Express

By: Nils Toledo 1.13.2009

The Movie Itself:
Judd Apatow and his crew are at it again with the stoner action comedy “Pineapple Express”.

“Pineapple Express” tells the story of Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), a pot smoking process server, whose job is to serve people their court papers. When Dale goes to serve a man named Ted Jones (Gary Cole), he witnesses Ted and a female police officer named Carol (Rosie Perez) kill an Asian man. Now like any normal American citizen would do, Dale runs and tells his pot dealer, Saul (James Franco). The problem lies in that Dale disposed of a “roach” in front of Ted’s place and the “roach” was made with special weed, named “Pineapple Express” and Saul is the only person selling it, so Dale and Saul then go on the run from Ted, and add in the always funny Danny McBride, and Ted’s war with the Asian drug dealers, and there you have “Pineapple Express” in a nutshell.

I will start out by saying I absolutely love Apatow and co. I have loved nearly every movie they have put out, and “Pineapple Express” is no different. I enjoyed every minute of it, while it I don’t think it is my favorite comedy released this year (or should I say last), it is up there.

What I love about Apatow’s movies is that not only are the main characters funny, but the supporting cast in his movies are wonderful, especially the “regulars” he uses (including Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd who are unfortunately absent). We do get Danny McBride, who has quickly become one of my favorites, ever since seeing him in “Heartbreak Kid” and “Tropic Thunder”. He steals the scene whenever he is on screen, and always gets a laugh out of me. Along with Danny, we get Craig Robinson, who plays a hilarious thug, sent to kill Dale and Saul; many will remember him as the bouncer from “Knocked Up”. Bill Hader also makes a small but funny appearance in the very beginning of the film.

The surprise here was definitely James Franco. This was his first big comedy and he didn’t disappoint, keeping his own against comedy heavyweight Seth Rogen. I have always seen Franco has a more serious actor, but he proved me wrong, has I may have laughed more at him then I did with Rogen, who is no doubt hilarious, as usual.

The action in the movie is surprisingly good, considering this is first and foremost a comedy, so I wasn’t expecting ”Die Hard” out of this, but was pleasantly surprised. The movie is funny throughout, but there are some over the top parts that really stand out, including a fight scene between McBride, Rogen and Franco, that had me just about keel over from laughing so hard, I won’t spoil it for you by going into detail, but let’s say you will find a new use for shaving your armpits, and using a dust buster.

I would say this is a solid purchase, especially if you have enjoyed Apatow and co. previous work. Everyone brings their A game and made a very good comedy, especially mixing those three genres together into one, which in the wrongs hands would have been a horrible movie. I can’t wait to see what else these brilliant minds can come up with next.
Rating: 9/10

The Presentation:
"Pineapple Express" comes to Blu-ray in a 1080p transfer framed at 2.40:1 using the AVC codec. The look of the film reminds me of Superbad with skins tones sometimes looking off. That is really the only small issue with the transfer, even though I am sure that is more attributed to the source. It has solid blacks, and a very nice upgrade from the dvd. I also didn't see any defects like noise or artifact blocking. There is also no DNR or EE applied to this from what I can tell. Overall a solid new release from Sony.

I was disappointed with the audio on "Pineapple". I don't think the action scenes, including the explostions sound nearly has good as they could. The majority of the audio comes in the form of dialogue which is presented nice a clear, so that is a plus, so overall I was unimpressed with the audio offering presented.
Rating: 8/10

Seth Rogen as Dale Denton (left) and James Franco as Saul Silver (right)

The Extras:
There are tons of special features on here, including the following:

Includes both Theatrical and Extended cuts of the film- Extended cut is about 5 minutes longer, there are a few added things, nothing that really changes anything too drastically from the theatrical cut.

BD-Live – Right now only includes a couple ringtones that can be sent too your mobile phone, I couldn’t them to work with my sprint smart phone.

Commentary with filmmakers and some members of the cast.

Ride the Express Game- This is a games that plays like the classic kong games, where you are pick who you want to be, either Saul or Dale, and work your way up, picking up the power-ups and avoiding the cops and the pineapples they throw.

The Making of “Pineapple Express” (HD) - Your standard making of feature, it is pretty lengthy, and informative, which is nice.

Deleted Scenes (SD) - 3 totaling 3 minutes 27 seconds – good for a chuckle, but glad to see they cut it from the film.

Extended and Alternate Scenes (SD) – 8 totaling 21 minutes and 6 seconds – Franco and Rogen arguing, Rogen being searched by the female officer.

Action of “Pineapple Express” (HD) - This takes us through the filming of the key action scenes in the movies, I am glad they included this, as they show how the my favorite scene was filmed(The fight between Red, Dale, and Saul.)

Phone Booth (SD) - 2 parts running a total of 6 minutes 25 seconds- There are two alternate takes of Dale’s conversation with his girlfriend, who in these two sequences is played by Judd Apatow. I like the cut the conversation that was actually in the movie better, I felt it had funnier dialogue.

Line-o-rama (SD) – These are alternates from some scenes in the movie, some are funny, but most I found to be just meh.

Direct-o-rama (SD) – This is a short segment, where director David Gordon Green has some of the cast members read their lines with different attitudes and expressions, I found this to be pretty damn funny, funnier than the line-o-rama.

Gag Reel (SD) – Like most of Apatow’s other gag reel’s there is some very funny stuff here, worth a watch.

Item 9 (SD) - This segment Shows some more people that are being tested with “Item 9” similar to Bill Hader’s character from the beginning of the movie. Couple funny things in here, but not the best feature.

Saul’s Apartment (SD) - This has different characters from the movie, including Justin Long, talking with Saul in his apartment. Some really, really funny stuff here, especially the one with Saul’s bubby.

Raw Footage (SD) - This is exactly what it says, raw uncut footage, and a whopping 32 minutes of it, and I think It is a nice feature, that is definitely worth a watch.

Begley’s Best (HD) – Actor Ed Begley Jr. talking about his business, this is not very interesting, not funny, I don’t really see the need to add this in.

Red and Jessica’s Guide to Marriage (HD) - Actor Danny McBride in character with his wife giving tips on marriage. I really enjoyed this feature, I thought it was hilarious.

Injury Report (HD) – This is about five minutes of the actors in the movie talking about the different injuries they got while filming the movie.

Stunt Master Ken (HD) – This is a feature highlighting stunt man/actor Ken Jeong, who many will recognize as the hilarious doctor from “Knocked Up” I enjoyed this feature, mainly because I love the actor, I just wish it was a little longer.

Rehearsal 3/6/07- Police Liaison (HD) – This is a rehearsal of the scenes where Dale gets searched by the female police officer, definitely worth the watch, a really funny segment.

Table Read 3/4/06 (HD) – Exactly what it says it is, a table read for two different scenes, some really funny stuff here, give it a watch.

Comic-con Panel (SD) – Ok segment, again some funny stuff, these guys are just all around funny.

Red Band Trailer (HD)

A digital copy is included on a second disc, which is compatible with windows, itunes, and the PSP.

Also included is a wallpaper for the Playstation 3.
Rating: 10/10

Overall:
"Pineapple Express" is another homerun for Judd Apatow and his crew. It is one of my favorite comedies released last year. It combines unlikely genres, and made a good movie out of it, which is really impressive. It has a solid video presentation with an unimpressive, but good enough audio presentation. I would recommend this as a buy, especially for fans of Apatow's previous work.
Rating: 9/10