PINEAPPLE EXPRESS: TWO-DISC SPECIAL EDITION (Sony, 2008) D: David Gordon Green, w/ Seth Rogen, James Franco. Rating: NNNN DVD package: NNN Rating: NNNN
Somewhere in the guffaw fest of the cast and crew commentary, someone points out that the idiocy of stoners can justify all kinds of logic lapses and strange plot developments. This is true, and it’s brilliantly exploited here in the form of comic paranoia that sells us on the implausible adventures of underachieving doper Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), who witnesses a murder and goes on the run with his space case dealer (James Franco) until they arrive the middle of a hard-action drug war.
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Rogen and Franco make great mismatched buddies. Ditto Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson as the hit men on our heroes’ tail and Rosie Perez and Gary Cole as the drug lords. Even the bit actors get to be funny.
Since everybody is playing a character, not shtick, the comedy and the action enhance rather than undercut each other.
The three-way fight involving Rogen, Franco and Danny McBride’s Red delivers more believable thrills than any of last summer’s big tentpole efforts.
The extensive extras package offers more comedy in the form of extended, deleted and alternate scenes. Check out Item 9.
EXTRAS Disc one: cast and crew commentary, making-of doc, gag reel. Widescreen. English, French audio and subtitles. Disc two: stunt doc, extended and alternate scenes, rehearsals. Widescreen.
