There's something I need to get off my chest.
To my fellows in Fort Collins, Lakewood and other regions, I finally got around to seeing the film Pineapple Express a few weeks ago. Going in, I was pumped. I had heard so many good things.
"It's just as good as super-bad!"
"I've died laughing so hard!"
"OMG. Seth Rogen is SOOO dreamy."
"Hmmmm," I thought. "Suppose I'll give it a shot." Undisclosed to me is why I didn't see it in the theaters with my friends.... and had the supposed guffaw-fest watching Seth Rogen and Franco Harris "stone" it out. And I digress, this film was supposed to do for pot what Superbad had done for alcohol. And I love pot!
It all begins with Rogen, a 20-something court order server, who drives around town smoking copious amounts of marijuana between deliveries. And when he's not smoking and serving, he's hanging out with his high school girlfriend! At first I think, "Alright! Someone I can relate to!" Rogen is depicted as an individual who can courier important documents while completely blazed...and still have the sense of mind to not get caught.
Yet as the story progresses, he transforms from a cannabis saint I wanted to idolize.... to a stereotypical paranoid prole; scared of his own shadow. What happened to his composure! Such a promising beginning, now I'm watching two routine reefer-heads running around the woods. It seems about 20 minutes into the movie, the original script was thrown out to make way for the Franco Harris Seth Rogen "comedic genius." Frustrating, disorganized, and circuitous conversations follow, which are hilarious if you're high! As the director probably was. (Oh btw Franco already had his moment in the comedic spotlight. Seen here.)
I have come to this conjecture: watching Pineapple Express without having gotten high first, is like watching a 3D movie without the 3D glasses.
Laughter is contagious. And I'm sure I would have enjoyed this more if there was a room full of adolescents telling me where the funny parts were. As appealing as the actors are, and as much as I rooted for the movie to come through, too often it didn't. This isn't a bad movie; it just could have been a lot better!

