“Pineapple Express”

Rated R

Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole

Columbia Pictures

4/5 stars

Walking into the theater, one doesn’t really know what to expect from “Pineapple Express.”

What’s this about? Pineapples? Perhaps a delivery service?

Oh, it’s about pot. Great.

In the past, stoner films have not achieved great success for several reasons.

At times, the plot is too absurd. At other times, stereotypes litter the movie throughout.

But this is where “Pineapple Express” finds its strengths.

Directed by Judd Apatow, the plot focuses on a 30-something process server played by Seth Rogen, who witnesses a vicious drug murder committed by drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole) and a crooked cop (Rosie Perez).

Believing he is being tracked through the blunt he’d dropped at the scene, he enlists the aid of his drug dealer Saul (James Franco). Trying to evade Jones’ henchmen, the two dig themselves deeper into the underground world of marijuana trafficking to the point where they find themselves in the middle of a violent gang war.

Fans of “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” will appreciate the buddy-interaction between the two and fellow dealer Red (Danny McBride). The half-baked ramblings between the three provide plenty of laid-back laughs, especially over a waffle breakfast near the end.

Unlike his previous work, Apatow’s latest endeavor contains a great amount of violence, with gunfights, wall-busting brawls and car chases. So much so the car chase is almost unfitting for a buddy-comedy; however, Rogen and Franco take the gratuitous bloodbath and twist it that it produces one of the funniest car chases in recent memory.

Previous stoner films, such as “How High,” play the race card in order to gain a few cheap laughs. In “Pineapple Express,” stereotypes are scarcely used. Saul embodies your typical Hollywood stoner, but is portrayed not in a way that may be racially offensive or a jab at the subculture as a whole.

Rather, he is portrayed as the kind-hearted, goofy sidekick.

Though it isn’t the box-office powerhouse “The Dark Knight” is, “Pineapple Express” is definitely worth seeing for a relaxed – yet hilarious – time.

Dylan Polk can be reached at 581-7942 or at dmpolk@eiu.edu.