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Behind the weed, there's a buddy movie in here somewhere

Pineapple Express is directed by David Gordon Green, who is better known for low-budget art films like George Washington than low-brow action-comedies such as this. The new film does carry his stamp on certain, more lyrical scenes—especially where grown-ups frolicking in the woods and children standing sullenly by playground fences are concerned. But for the most part, this is the sort of film that gets its kicks from "creative profanity" and a surprisingly graphic amount of comic violence, as Dale and Saul find themselves caught in a battle between two rival drug lords.

The movie is watchable enough, but not very believable, even on its own lazy terms. This doesn't matter so much for the first hour or so, where much of the fun comes from watching Rogen and Franco settle into their own comic, laid-back rhythm. Even some of the action hijinks that follow are amusing for how they subvert certain movie conventions. (Saul slams on the brakes, thinking the car pursuing him will zip right past him—but the other driver slams on the brakes too, and opens fire.)

But the louder and noisier and bloodier it gets, the more you notice how uninspired and underwritten the movie is. If you're already high, this might not be such a problem. But for the rest of us in the audience, it can be a bit of a drag.

>Talk About It

1. Do you think this movie is for or against the legalization of marijuana, or do you think it is neutral on the subject? How significant is it that these characters find their lives threatened by the very man who provides them with the drugs they like?
2. Dale tells Saul that they are not very "functional" when they are high. Why do you think they smoke pot, then? Do they learn from their lack of functionality?
3. If marijuana were legal, should Christians treat it any differently from tobacco or alcohol? Why or why not? Note how, in the flashback, the army general who declares that marijuana is illegal is shown taking a swig from a flask. Why does the film include that shot? Note also that the flashback takes place just a few years after the end of Prohibition, when it was illegal to drink wine in the United States except for medicinal or religious reasons. Are the issues related? Are they separate?
4. Is it difficult for men to form friendships, or to express "love" for each other? Why or why not? How can these friendships be balanced, in a healthy way, with other emotional attachments, such as marriages and other romantic relationships?

The Family Corner

Pineapple Express is rated R for pervasive language (four-letter words throughout the movie, plus a few uses of Jesus' name in vain), drug use (marijuana smoking throughout the movie, the main characters sell drugs to minors), sexual references (people talk about various kinds of sex acts, but nothing is shown) and violence (multiple people, including at least one innocent bystander, are shot, stabbed, and blown up).

Photos © Copyright Columbia Pictures

© Peter T. Chattaway subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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