Pineapple Express (2008) - Funny people incite laughs in ludicrous stoner comedy

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+ Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year + Best Stone Comedy of the Year
 

Three popular male stars, - with just two of them receiving credit, - on this smoke-filled poster for David Gordon Green's Pineapple Express

A civil servant visits a pot dealer and gets a new kind of weed called Pineapple Express. On his next trip, however, he witnesses a police murder, which gets connected to him and the dealer.

 

Pineapple Express is written by Evan Goldberg (Preacher (2016-19)) and co-writer/co-star Seth Rogen (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)), with co-producer/co-writer Judd Apatow (The King of Staten Island (2020)) contributing story elements, and directed by Arkansan master filmmaker David Gordon Green (George Washington (2000)), whose 5th feature it is.

It is a wacky, potty-mouthed film, ripe with stoner humor, - right from Bill Hader's (The Skeleton Twins (2014)) fairly unrelated 1937-set opening scene to the very end, - but also with flashes of crazy-comedy and deadpan gags. James Franco (The Interview (2014)), Rogen and Danny McBride (Arizona (2018)) compliment each other well and are seconded by scores of other funny folk here, of whom especially Craig Robinson (The Bad Guys (2022)) and the police women (Rosie Perez (Inside the Rain (2019)) and Cleo King (Deadwood: The Movie (2019, TV movie))) are funny. 

Pineapple Express, and especially the extended home video version, is overlong, but the laughs are plentiful along the way.

 

Related posts:

 

David Gordon Green: Halloween (2018) - Great-looking mayhem 

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess

The Sitter (2011) - Green and Hill's inappropriate babysitter movie is a crude hoot 

Your Highness (2011) - Green's dismissed, golden stoner/raunch adventure comedy

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

George Washington (2000) - Green's evocative North Carolina youth debut masterpiece 

 

 

Watch a short clip from the film here

 

Cost: 25-27 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: 102.4 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.93 times its cost)

[Pineapple Express premiered 31 July (Hollywood) and runs 112 minutes. Shooting took place from March - May 2007 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit The Dark Knight, to a 23.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 87.3 mil. $ (85.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 6.9 mil. $ (6.7 %) and Australia with 3.6 mil. $ (3.5 %). The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The film made an estimated 48 mil. $ on the North-American home video market as well. Plans for a sequel stranded, as the stars and filmmakers wanted 50 mil. $ for it, and Sony would 'only' allow 45 mil. $. Green returned with Your Highness (2011). Rogen returned in Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008); Franco in Nights in Rodanthe (2008). Pineapple Express is fresh at 68 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Pineapple Express?

This Is the End (2013) or, Hollywood Apocalypse

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Hilarity-promising poster for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's This Is the End

QUICK REVIEW:

Seth Rogen (Take This Waltz (2011)) receives his old, fellow Canadian friend Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up (2007)) in the LAX airport for catch-up and later a party at James Franco's (Palo Alto (2013)) house. But then it starts ... - the Apocalypse!

This Is the End is a crazy-funny apocalyptic stoner sci-fi meta-comedy with lots of memorable moments and lines, in which all the famous actors play outrageous versions of themselves. Funniest of them all, probably, are Craig Robinson (The Office (2005-13)) and Danny McBride (Pineapple Express (2008)).
At some point, though, debuting writer-directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (The Interview (2014)) let their preferences for vulgarity, obscurity and just plain stoner-randomness get the best of them, so that some audiences will undoubtedly get enough.
This Is the End is mainly for people who are already familiar with the stars in it, as they play on their public images and many of the jokes rely on actor-familiarity. 
The Channing Tatum-scene raises some questions (...), and the SPOILER exorcism of Jonah Hill (especially the puking part) is a low-point for the film. I also didn't feel that I really needed to see SPOILER Seth Rogen piss himself in his face, or Backstreet Boys perform in Heaven.
Still, This Is the End wins on its personalities and many laughs.

Related posts:

Top 10: Best Hollywood-set movies
Seth Rogen: 50/50 (2011) or, Dude's Got the Big C
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) or, Let the Sunshine In

Watch the hilarious trailer here

Cost: 32 mil. $
Box office: 126 mil. $
= Big hit
[The film came in 2nd behind Man of Steel's phenomenal 116.6 mil. $ opening on June 12, and still managed a 20.7 mil. $ opening weekend. Due to the film's strong result in the US, it was re-released on September 6. 80.5 % of the film's end gross came from North America.]

What do you think of This Is the End?
What is your favorite line or scene from the film?