[Blu Ray Review] PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
If a movie divided the other writers on this site this year more than Pineapple Express did, I would be very surprised. Kristina really didn’t like it (giving it only Two Pop-Corns in her review) while Gazz loved the hell out of it (giving the movie Four Pop-Corns in his review). At the time Gazz put out a call, hoping that I would watch it soon and cast the deciding vote on the subject – and he had a lot of faith that I would share his opinion.
At the time, I missed it totally in the cinema. My local fleapit decided to advertise the fact that they were showing the movie the DAY AFTER it was on (thanks a bunch!) so I already knew that I would have to wait until it’s home entertainment release to actually see the bloody thing. And then, lo and behold, the Blu Ray release landed on my doormat for review last week. And that coming Friday the children were away at their grandparents so my wife and I sat down with a bottle of wine to watch Judd Apatow’s latest comedic offering. Now, it has to be said that so far I haven’t seen one single “Judd Apatow” movie that I haven’t liked.
Guess what? I loved the hell out of this one too!
Yes, that’s right, if you agreed with Kristina’s opinions on the movie (and, Lord knows, everyone is entitled to their own opinions) then you are going to disagree with mine.
And you’d be wrong, too! This movie is fabulous! My wife and I laughed so hard during the movie that I was very glad that the children were at their grandparents for the night, otherwise I would have woken them up! And when the movie shifted into action movie mode towards the end it was handled in exactly the right way, easing you into it as Dale (Seth Rogen) realises that while stoned he and Saul (James Franco) are getting in serious trouble and need to sober up to stay alive – which is exactly what he has done by the time of the climatic shootout at the end.
Like I said, perfect!
Speaking of perfect, there are so many moments of golden comedy in this movie. I honestly haven’t laughed as hard at any movie since watching The 40 Year Old Virgin (which very nearly killed me the first time I saw it, as I had a cold!), but this at least runs a close second to that movie with the amount of laugh out loud moments firing at the screen. Sure, some of the comedy mis-fires a little, but the amount of funny lines or situations means that you are never far away from yet another laugh out loud moment.
James Franco and Seth Rogen are superb in the lead roles, handling the comedy and action with aplomb (which makes me quite hopeful for Rogen’s take on The Green Hornet – if it comes off), but it’s the supporting characters who help make this so funny. Most of the really funny moments are due to Danny McBride as Saul’s supplier, Red. Seriously, this guy is comedy gold and is absolutely hilarious thoughout. If you find yourself quoting lines from this movie, I’m pretty sure a lot of them will have been delivered by Red!
Also of note is Gary Cole as Ted, who proves equally as good at comedy as he is at drama, delivering some cracking lines. And what about Ken Jeong? Sure, the whole of the subplot of the gangwar between Ted and the Chinese could have been removed from the movie without too much trouble, but then we wouldn’t have gotten such wonderful lines as “War is upon you! Prepare to suck the cock of Karma!”. And lets not forget the hitmen sent after Saul and Dale, played by Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan. This bickering pair are just excellent, filling out the roles perfectly, and really making you believe that they have been working together for a long time.
Director David Gordon Green, who is more well known for drama’s, proves himself more than able of handling comedy and action movies, and he really does do a good job here.
The quality of the Blu-Ray transfer is pretty high, with a clarity that you would expect from a modern movie transferred into high definition and facial and background details stand out very well, but you may find yourself a little disappointed with the black levels at times, mainly during the nighttime scenes, but all in all it’s a solid transfer. Likewise, the audio track has no problems, with the dialogue, of which there is a great deal, standing out well from the other noises and the action scenes delivering a decent enough “pow”.
Special Features
Commentary with Filmmakers & Cast: Judd Apatow, Ed Begley, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, James Franco, Evan Goldberg & David Green (who was in a different city) start off the commentary for the movie – and if you’ve ever listened to one of their commentaries for one of their other releases you’ll know what to expect! A certain amount of information regarding what they are watching while they take the piss out of each other and have a great time! Ed Begley actually leaves after a little while (as he has to be somewhere else) but is soon replaced by Rosie Perez and Craig Robinson. Trust me, this is a blast. It’s very entertaining and certainly worth watching the movie just one more time to hear.
3 Deleted Scenes: While these deleted scenes are amusing, it’s easy to see why they were removed from the movie in the first place!
8 Extended & Alternate Scenes: All of these “alternate” scenes are funny, but the real standout is the variation of the opening scenes will Bill Hader.
The Making of Pineapple Express: While this isn’t very long (just over 20 minutes) it packs a serious amount of information regarding the entire process of making the movie, from initial inception through to the finished product. Rehersal footage and script readings are shown while Rogen, Apatow and others talk about where the initial idea for the movie came from and their struggles to get the movie made. Definitely worth a watch.
The Action of Pineapple Express: Seth Rogen, James Franco, David Gordon Green, Rosie Perez and Stunt Coordinator Gary Hymes talk about the stunt work on the movie, revealing that no greenscreen was used at all and all of the stunts were not only filmed on location but also as much as possible was done by the cast! Which, of course, resulted in more than a few minor injuries (which is covered in the Injury Report featurette). They also talk about the “Go Mobile” which is used to film the driving scenes and a look at a rehersal for the first fight scene in the movie.
Phone Booth: A look at two different takes of the “phone-booth” scene between Dale and his girlfriend, before the character was cast. So who speaks the girlsfriends lines? Why, Judd Apatow of course!
Line-O-Rama: You know what to expect from this by now – various clips of the actors saying slightly different lines each time. Some are funny as anything, others are just odd!
Direct-O-Rama: A different take on the “Line-O-Rama”, this time with David Gordon Green giving the actors some very strange instructions!
Gag Reel: It’s a gag reel. From a comedy movie. And it’s damned funny!
Item 9: A pretty entertaining companion piece to the black and white opening of the movie, with a bit more of a look at the Governments experiments with Item 9. If you liked the opening of the movie then you’ll like this!
Saul’s Apartment: Four scenes, performed by various actors coming to Sauls’ aparment to buy drugs, with Danny McBride appearing as Red. Very funny, and certainly worth a watch.
Raw Footage: 32 minutes of completely un-cut footage from the filming of the movie. It is interesting to see, and there are some funny moments, but some of it does drag a little.
Begley’s Best: Ed Begley Jnr plugs his new environment friendly cleaner. Odd, to say the least.
Red & Jessica’s Guide to Marriage: Danny McBride reprises his role as Red in this instructional guide to how he makes his marriage work with his wife, Jessica. Again, this is very funny. Danny McBride might possibly be the funniest man on the planet!
Injury Report: So did you wonder how many injuries were collected on set during the making of the movie? Well, this little extra will take you through each and every one of them!
Stuntmaster Ken: Actually, the funniest man on the planet might well be Dr Ken – as here he pretends to be the stunt coordinator for the movie!
Rehersal 3/6/07 Police Liaison: Rehersal footage between Seth Rogen and Cleo King for the scene where King’s Police Liaison officer catches Dale dealing drugs to school kids.
Table Read 3/4/06: Two lots of footage from table readthroughs of the script. One scene was in the movie, where Saul and Dale have the argument that stops them being friends, and one scene involving an underwater GPS which didn’t make it into the final movie.
Comic-Con Panel: Footage of the Comic-Con panel hosted by Judd Apatow with Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green.
Red Band Trailer:
All in all, this is possibly my favourite comedy from last year. I know I still haven’t seen Tropic Thunder (something which I intend to address as soon as I can), but regardless of that, Pineapple Express had me laughing so hard that if my children had been home I would have woken them up! It doesn’t matter if you are a “stoner” or not, this is comedy gold and the Blu-Ray has a fantastic set of extras that will entertain you almost as much as the movie does. And, as if that wasn’t enough, it also comes with a second disc with a digital copy on so that you can enjoy the movie on your laptop/PC/PSP!
Apatow/Rogen do it again. Which means that I am still to see an Apatow production that I don’t like!
8 Responses to “[Blu Ray Review] PINEAPPLE EXPRESS”
I still hate it.
Well, you are horrible person then aren’t you.
You may still hate it Kris.
But you’re still wrong too.
I just don’t understand. It seems to be one of those “love it or hate it” movies. I just didn’t like it, but then again, I’m the weirdo who hates Wedding Crashers, too.
It’s not a “love it or hate it” movie, it’s just a funny ****ing movie, period.
Your dislike of it is quite suspect.
Quite?
Try very!
PS i’m most concerned and awaiting you writing Slumdog Millionaire off as “this year’s…” Kris!
I await your review. Mine should be up in The next day or so.
The MOVIE rocks. The HYPE, on the other hand, is what I object to.
That’s because you seem get sucked into all the hype, and that does suck for you. Thank Jeebus, I don’t have that problem when watching a movie.
You poor, poor bastard.
Trackbacks
What's Your Opinion?