Pineapple Express
Melding the senseless 1980s action movie with a stoner flick is certainly a novel concept, and the Apatow players didn't disappoint in the execution. Execution is a good word for this surprisingly violent film, which doesn't soften its reverence to the Lethal Weapons of the Reagan Years for the sake of comedy.
There was a modicum of humor to be had in the exploits of stoners, bumbling from one ridiculous scenario to another, usually clueless to their circumstances; and Cheech & Chong more or less used it up. But Pineapple Express star Seth Rogen, along with co-writers Evan Goldberg and Judd Apatow, found untapped potential in watching similar characters fumble through much more serious dilemmas, such as fleeing from a ruthless drug lord and crooked cop whom Dale (Rogen) saw commit a murder.
Along the way a gaggle of oddball characters pop in and out, most notably Danny McBride's hilariously self-serving middleman between simpleton kingpin Ted Jones (Cole) and dimbulb pot dealer Saul (Franco).
Somehow the film's refusal to pull punches when it comes to action sequences actually ratches up the seriousness of Dale and Saul's predicament and makes their "love story" of friendship and getting high more believable and likeable. Pineapple Express shouldn't have the legs that it does; but it takes everything serious that it should and nothing that it shouldn't, which makes for one of the funniest and sincerely heartwarming films of the summer.