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Friday 9 January 2009

What a drag

Pineapple Express
15, Nationwide 

It is scripted by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, who starred in both Superbad and Knocked Up — he gives good chubby schlub, I would say — and stars in this as chubby schlub Dale, a process server who is almost perpetually stoned and buys his weed from Saul (James Franco), who has just come into possession of a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. According to Dale, once he’s put his nose into the bag, Pineapple Express is so good it smells of ‘God’s vagina’. I do not know how he would know this, as the scent of God’s vagina is not mentioned in the Bible, as far as I know. On the other hand, perhaps it is and it’s just that my aunt never told me. I did play a lot of Monopoly with my aunt.

The first ten minutes are okay, and even quite amiable really, as Dale (who sweats a lot) and Saul (childlike and addled) shoot the breeze in their dopey way, but ten minutes is enough with anyone who is stoned when you aren’t and this has another 140 minutes to go. The film makers try to get round this by turning it into an action caper — a caper that kicks off when Dale, parked outside the home of drugs baron Ted Jones (Gary Cole), witnesses him murdering someone inside. Ted lives in an entirely glass house and if there is one thing I took away from this movie it is this: those who live in glass houses shouldn’t shoot people there. Take them out back, at least.

So now Dale and Saul, who are already starting to get annoying — stop sweating, Dale!; grow up, Saul! — are on the run, which basically involves lots of rather conventional chase sequences with pauses for spliffs, the inevitable male bonding and some pretty nasty bloody stuff with ears being half blown off and stomachs being shot out. (That Quentin Tarantino influence; it gets everywhere. It’ll get into my carpets next and then what am I going to do? I’m not sure my Vanish will be up to it.) Aside from not being very funny — actually, there is one funny moment, but as it’s in the trailer you could just settle for that — nothing adds up. There are plot holes you could drop entire universes though. There may even be pot holes, which are stoned plot holes that make no more sense and will keep giggling at you. And it just has no sense of purpose. There is a sub-plot to do with Dale’s girlfriend, a high school student, that goes absolutely nowhere for no reason whatsoever and isn’t interesting for a nanosecond.

In short, I’d forget Pineapple Express, if I were you. On the other hand, it could be that it’s the wittiest, cleverest, most amusing film ever, and I’m just too stuffy to get it, but I don’t think so. As it is, I only spent all this morning further researching vacuum cleaners online and if I’d been truly stuffy, I’d have spent all day, wouldn’t I? (I’m leaning more towards Dyson now.)

More articles from: Deborah Ross | this section

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