Yet another entry in the ever-growing cache of the Judd Apatow's Comedy All Stars, which includes such recent hits as 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Pineapple Express is an unapologetic madcap romp through the world of habitual pot smokers and over the top violence. An odd combination? Perhaps. But the film succeeds on pure audacity.

Seth Rogen stars as Dale Denton, a 25 year old chronic chronic-smoker who's dating a senior in high school. When not working as a process server, and even when working as a process server, Dale spends most of his time getting high. His main dealer is Saul (James Franco), a burned out pothead lost in a perpetual daze of one too many bong hits. Not quite friends, but more than just customer and dealer, Dale and Saul have a relationship built around the fact that they both love to get high. Apparently this is enough for Saul to sell Dale some choice weed known as "pineapple express." This stuff is so rare, that it seems Saul is the only dealer in town with a supply, provided to him by his middleman, Red (Danny McBride). This proves to be problematic when Dale, while getting reading to serve a summons, witnesses a murder and leaves behind a roach at the scene of the crime. As fate would have it, the killer is Ted Jones (Gary Cole), a sadistic gangster who happens to be the sole importer of pineapple express. I know this all sounds ridiculous, which it is, and it only gets more so. Ted sends hitmen Budlofsky (Kevin Corrigan) and Matheson (Craig Robinson) to Red, who rats out Dale and Seth. When it becomes clear that Red has sold them out, Dale and Saul go on the run, with Ted and his army of killers not far behind.

It is important to realize that you don't have to be stoned to appreciate Pineapple Express, but you do need to have an appreciation for the absurd and implausible. From start to finish, this is a film that is pure ridiculousness--an unlikely pairing of the stoner comedy and the buddy action flick, resulting in an almost schizophrenic mishmash of genres that is ultimately a parody. Nothing is quite as it would be if Pineapple Express were more of a traditional genre film one way or the other. Dale and Saul are a bit too physically active for a pair of stoners, while Budlofsky and Matheson are a bit too emotionally sensitive for a pair of hired killers. And Red is a bit too much of everything to even compare him to anything else.

Pineapple Express has some problems. Most notable is a run time that's a bit too long. Many Apatow-produced comedies have this problem, and Pineapple Express could certainly use a bit of trimming. And there are times when the film takes leaps of such absurdity that if you aren't fully engaged, you'll find yourself disconnected from what's going on. But where the film does work--most notably the performances and chemistry of Rogen and Franco--it remains consistent and thoroughly entertaining. The rest of the cast also turn in great performances, especially Robinson and McBride, who pretty much steal every scene they're in. Pineapple Express is a solid film that has some flaws, but it is entertaining enough that those problems can be overlooked. And when compared to other stoner comedies, like Half Baked or the films of Cheech and Chong, Pineapple Express starts to come across like cinematic gold. The comedic timing is sharp, the performances are all solid, and perhaps most significant, you don't have to be stoned to find it funny.

Video:
Pineapple Express is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is very good, with sharp images, bright colors and a clean, clear video transfer. There are no noticeable flaws, defects or artifacts, and overall the picture quality remains consistent throughout.

Audio:
Pineapple Express is presented in English, 5.1 Dolby Digital, with an optional dialog track dubbed in French in 5.1 Dolby Digital. There are optional subtitles in English and French. The sound mix is good, with a solid balance between dialog, music and sound effects. The audio levels remain consistent throughout.

Bonus Material:
First, we have an audio commentary that includes director David Gordon Green, producer Judd Apatow, actors Seth Rogen, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride and at least four or five other people. This might sound like something great, but people tend to talk over each other, at times making it difficult to tell who is talking, no one says that much of merit about the film production, and there are actually moments of awkward silence, which is ridiculous given that there are at least a half dozen people participating in the commentary at any one given point. Not a terrible commentary, but not one that is essential listening. There is also the perfunctory making of featurette (21 min.) that seems to be there simply as a reason to charge more for the DVD. The same is true for the four extended and alternate scenes (10 min.), and the superfluous gag reel (5 min.). The bottom line with all of the bonus features is that none of them enhance the movie.

Final Thoughts:
Pineapple Express is a fun film, and well worth watching. The bonus features could be better, and don't really make or break the DVD. The movie definitely holds up to multiple viewings, so if stoner comedies mixed with over-the-top buddy action flicks are your bag, you'll probably want to invest in picking up your own disc.