Pineapple Express (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Oroso (talk | contribs) at 07:20, 8 August 2008 (Reverted edits by 24.252.41.126 to last version by 207.224.94.205 (HG)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Pineapple Express
File:Pineapple express.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed byDavid Gordon Green
Written byScreenplay:
Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
Story:
Judd Apatow
Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
Produced byJudd Apatow
Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
Shauna Robertson
StarringSeth Rogen
James Franco
Gary Cole
Rosie Perez
Danny R. McBride
Amber Heard
Craig Robinson
Kevin Corrigan
Bill Hader
CinematographyTim Orr
Edited byCraig Alpert
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
August 6, 2008
Running time
111 min.[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[2]

Pineapple Express is a 2008 action comedy stoner film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story, which was partially inspired by the buddy comedy subgenre. The film was released August 6, 2008.

Plot

The film starts off in 1937 in a secret underground government laboratory where tests are being performed on the effects of marijuana. Private Miller (Bill Hader) is a subject in a test to decide if marijuana should be illegal. Miller, obviously high, begins to insult the government and his superiors. As a result, the government deems marijuana illegal and quickly "disposes of" Private Miller.

Jumping to the present, Dale Denton (Rogen), a 25 year-old process serving stoner, visits his equally stoned dealer, Saul Silver (Franco), to purchase cannabis. Saul offers him a rare strain of marijuana called Pineapple Express. After making his purchase, Dale agrees to smoke a 'cross-shaped' joint with Saul before leaving. Next, Dale visits his girlfriend Angie (Amber Heard) at her high school and argues about accepting an invitation to eat dinner with her family. He then leaves her school, smokes more, and ends up in front of the house of the next person he is supposed to serve, Ted Jones (Gary Cole), who turns out to be a drug lord.

While waiting outside in his car smoking a joint made from the Pineapple Express, Dale witnesses Ted and a crooked police officer, Carol Brazier, (Rosie Perez) commit murder. As Dale panics, he throws his roach out the window and leaves the scene, while hitting two parked cars in the process (one being Officer Brazier's cruiser). As Carol and Ted run outside to find Dale driving away, they determine that he saw the murder and are able to classify the roach he threw out the window as the rare Pineapple Express. Dale drives back to Saul's in a panic and eventually concludes that he could be traced back to Saul by the rare Pineapple Express (Saul is the only dealer who has it, and Ted is the only supplier). Dale and Saul leave the apartment. Meanwhile, Ted is determined to catch the witness of the murder so he dispatches two henchmen, Matheson (Craig Robinson) and Budlofsky (Kevin Corrigan), to find and dispose of Saul and Dale.

The henchmen go to Saul's dealer, Red (Danny R. McBride) and try to arrange a meeting with Red and Saul, which subsequently fails because Dale and Saul spend the night in the woods. With just the Pineapple Express with them, Dale and Saul head over to Red's apartment where a fight eventually breaks out between the three of them. Dale and Saul are now convinced that the henchmen came to the house and that they must leave the city. Because the henchmen could not kill Dale or Saul, Ted believes that the rival drug gang, led by the Asians, have hired Dale as a hitman, and Ted goes to war with the Asians.

With no money to buy bus tickets, Dale and Saul (at Dale's suggestion) sell some of the Pineapple Express to some school kids. Saul goes off to buy food and Dale stays behind and smokes more; however, the school's police officer catches him for selling the marijuana to the kids. On a routine ID check, a warrant shows up for the earlier hit-and-run (ostensibly orchestrated by Officer Brazier). Dale tells the female officer about the murder he witnessed and she actually believes him and wants to help. As they drive off, Saul jumps in front of the car, splattering the windshield with a red slushee. The cop gets out to investigate while Saul sneaks into the police cruiser and drives off. Officer Brazier arrives in her car shortly thereafter. A high-speed chase ensues, and Dale and Saul successfully evade her.

Once again, Dale and Saul have a disagreement, with Dale telling Saul he is not his friend, just his drug dealer. Saul takes it really hard and leaves Dale to go to his grandmother's assisted living home. But it turns out Budlofsky and Matheson beat him there, and kidnap and take him hostage at the Pineapple Express grow house (the underground base at the beginning of the film).

Dale has a revelation and, with Red, decides to break Saul out of the grow house, but Red chickens out at the last minute, which results in Dale being held captive. At the same time, the Asians break in and start shooting everyone and a gun-battle ensues. Dale and Saul manage to free themselves despite the fact that the walls are super thin, and everything they've said about escaping, Matheson could hear. Saul escapes through an insulation pipe while Dale fights with Ted. Saul re-enters the barn with a gun yelling, 'FUCK THE POLICE', and with Red they save Dale. However Red is shot multiple times (making this the fifth time he is shot in the movie) and is believed to be dead. With Saul unconscious, Dale carries him out of the barn just before it explodes. Seconds after the explosion, Red walks out, unharmed, and the 3 go off to a diner and reminisce about the previous events of movie (mentioning the car chase and the fact that Red has lost a lot of blood and should probably see a doctor) and rekindle their friendship.

Cast

Production

The source of inspiration for making Pineapple Express, according to producer Judd Apatow, was Brad Pitt's character in True Romance (1993), a stoner named Floyd. Apatow "thought it would be funny to make a movie in which you follow that character out of his apartment and watch him get chased by bad guys".[3] According to Rogen, the ideal production budget was $40 million, but due to the subject matter—"because it's a weed movie", as he put it—Sony Pictures allotted $25 million.[2]

David Gordon Green met with Apatow, Rogen and Goldberg on the set of Knocked Up, and later on the set of Superbad to discuss the project.[4] Gordon cited The Blues Brothers, Midnight Run, Running Scared, and Stir Crazy as sources of inspiration and influence on directing the film.[4]

Rogen was originally going to play the "stoner buddy" character of Saul Silver, but Apatow suggested that Franco should play Saul. After a table read, Rogen agreed, thus casting himself in the role of Dale Denton.[5]

Seth Rogen spoke with musician Huey Lewis, of Huey Lewis and the News, on writing and performing the film's theme song in November 2007.[6]

There was an exclusive sneak peek of the film attached to the Superbad DVD, which was released on December 4, 2007.

Release and reception

A "red-band" trailer for the film, featuring the song "Paper Planes" by M.I.A.,[7] leaked in February 2008.[8] Sony Pictures had the video removed from YouTube within a week of its posting.[9] Patrick Goldstein's Summer Movie Posse of the LA Times described its incorporation as "the most impressive use of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" ever."[10] Pineapple Express had an advance screening at the Just for Laughs Film Festival on July 19, 2008.[11] The film is planned to have a theatrical release on August 6, 2008.[12] Cable network FX pre-bought exclusive rights to air the film after its theatrical run.[13]

An early review on the website DigitalJournal.com by Michael Billy has called Pineapple Express, "the best comedy of the summer" while also saying, "If you laughed at Superbad, or you laughed at Knocked Up, then you will definitely enjoy Pineapple Express. If you did not, then this movie probably isn't for you." It was an overall positive review.[14] Review-aggregate website Metacritic so far has the movie receiving a score of 67/100, indicating generally average reviews, and it currently holds a 67% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 113 reviews. Another review said "Pineapple Express is the best stoner movie yet."

Another early review was seen on the movie review blog, The Movie Watch, saying that the film was successful in every aspect it tried to achieve, James Franco is happily welcomed back to the world of comedy, and Danny Mcbride will quickly be shooting up to fame due to his outstanding performance and role in the film. Also, the film will be a hit for Apatow regulars, due to its comedy stylings and themes, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out with people unfamiliar with this new 'comedy genre'. [15]

Controversy

On Aug 5, 2008 Brooklyn T-shirt designers Wowch, claim [16] that the T-shirt James Franco wears throughout the entire movie and on the promotional ads, is based on a 2005 T-Shirt design they created for sale at Urban Outfitters.[17] In several interviews actor James Franco [18] [19] credits the design of the T-shirt (featuring a cat resting in the open mouth of a shark) to director David Gordon Green. Stating that the director wanted him to wear a Monteray Bay brand shirt featuring a whale, but instead created an original design of a cat resting in the mouth of a shark.

Soundtrack

The original motion picture soundtrack to the film was released on August 5 2008.[20] Although featured in the trailer for the film,[21] the song "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. does not appear on the soundtrack or the movie.

Track listing

  1. "Pineapple Express" by Huey Lewis and the News (4:27)
  2. "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant (3:48)
  3. "Dr. Greenthumb" by Cypress Hill (3:08)
  4. "Lost at Birth" by Public Enemy (3:33)
  5. "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe (4:20)
  6. "Wanted Dread and Alive" by Peter Tosh (4:22)
  7. "Don't Look Around" by Mountain (3:44)
  8. "Pineapple Chase (aka The Reprise of the Phoenix)" by Graeme Revell (3:03)
  9. "Bird's Lament" by Moondog & The London Saxophonic (2:02)
  10. "Coconut Girl" by Brother Nolan (3:36)
  11. "Hilawe" by Arthur Lyman (1:09)
  12. "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (3:45)
  13. "Pineapple Fight" (aka "The Nemesis Proclaimed") by Graeme Revell (3:08)
  14. "I Didn't Mean to Hurt You" by Spiritualized (5:12)
  15. "Woke Up Laughing" by Robert Palmer (3:35)

References

  1. ^ "Pineapple Express at BBFC". British Board of Film Classification. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Shirley Halperin (2008-04-11). "Marijuana Movies: Riding High In Hollywood?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  3. ^ Benjamin Svetkey (2008-04-18). "'Pineapple Express': High hopes for James Franco". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  4. ^ a b Edward Douglas (2008-08-04). "Exclusive: Pineapple Express's David Gordon Green". comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  5. ^ Eric Goldman (2008-03-18). "Judd Apatow: From Freaks and Geeks to Sarah Marshall and Beyond". IGN.com. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  6. ^ Shirley Halperin (2007-11-26). "Seth Rogen inviting Huey Lewis aboard 'Pineapple Express'?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  7. ^ Jonathan Foerster (2008-06-12). "We've got the soundtrack to your summer". Naples Daily News. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  8. ^ Nicole Sperling (2008-02-13). "And the red-band played on... or not". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  9. ^ Nicole Sperling (2008-02-14). "Smoke up, Seth Rogen: 'Pineapple Express' red-band trailer is finally online". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  10. ^ Patrick Goldstein (2008-04-29). "Summer Movie Posse gives its thumbs up....and down". LA Times. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  11. ^ Brendan Kelly, Daniel Frankel (2008-06-17). "'Pineapple' opens comedy festival". Variety. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  12. ^ Ian Mohr (2007-06-05). "Apatow, Rogen set 'Pineapple' date". Variety. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  13. ^ John Dempsey (2008-06-24). "FX to 'Mess With the Zohan'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  14. ^ Michael Billy (2008-07-17). "Early Review of 'Pineapple Express'". DigitalJournal. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  15. ^ Ezra Edmond (2008-05-06). "Pineapple Express". Movie Review Blog. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  16. ^ Max Wowch (2008-08-05). "BLINCOLN BLOGS: WOWCH DEMANDS SATISFACTION". Wowch Blog. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  17. ^ Hamilton Nolan (2008-08-05). "Pineapple Express: Did Pineapple Express Steal this Shirt?". Gawker.com. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  18. ^ Sea Evans (2008-08-07). "No, James Franco didn't steal that T-shirt idea". NY Daily News Online. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  19. ^ Emily Christianson (2008-07-30). "'Pineapple Express': On the Set with James Franco". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  20. ^ Pineapple Express (Soundtrack), Amazon.com
  21. ^ Leslie Williams (2008-05-14). "Leslie Williams: Selecting summer music, films". The Orion Online. Retrieved 2008-07-22.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pineapple_Express_(film)&oldid=230566176"