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Pineapple Express (film)
Encyclopedia
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner
action comedy directed by David Gordon Green
, written by Seth Rogen
and Evan Goldberg
and starring Rogen and James Franco
. Producer Judd Apatow
, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up
and Superbad, assisted in developing the story, which was partially inspired by the buddy comedy
subgenre. The film was released on August 6, 2008. Franco was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his performance in the film.
) is a 25-year-old process server
who, in delivering a subpoena to drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole
), witnesses Jones and his business partner/girlfriend, corrupt police officer Carol Brazier (Rosie Perez
), commit murder. Dale panics and leaves a roach
at the scene containing a rare strain of marijuana
called Pineapple Express. Ted subsequently identifies the roach as the strain that he had sold to only one dealer. He sends his two henchmen, Budlofsky (Kevin Corrigan
) and Matheson (Craig Robinson) to the dealer, Red (Danny McBride), who discloses that he has only sold the pot to Dale's dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco
).
Dale flees to Saul's apartment in a panic and explains what happened. After a brief conversation, Dale realizes Ted could trace the roach back to Saul. They flee Saul's apartment, while Ted's henchmen persuade Red to arrange a meeting between Red and Saul, but this fails because Dale and Saul spend the night in the woods.
After sleeping for 18 hours, Dale and Saul arrive at Red's house and hope that talking with Red in person will help them determine whether Ted has linked them, and therefore whether he is in pursuit. Instead, Dale decides that Red will reveal their whereabouts to Ted, and the three fight. Convinced that Ted's men are pursuing them, they decide that they must leave the city. Dale goes to his girlfriend Angie's (Amber Heard
) house to warn her and her parents (Nora Dunn
and Ed Begley, Jr.
), but only Angie's father does not believe him. Matheson and Budlofsky pursue Dale and Saul to Angie's house, and her family goes into hiding.
To leave town, Dale and Saul sell some of Saul's Pineapple Express to raise bus fare. A police officer later catches Dale smoking a joint and arrests him for selling the weed to middle school kids. Dale convinces the arresting officer that Brazier is corrupt. Saul saves Dale by hijacking the squad car, while Officer Brazier hears a police radio call of Dale's arrest. She pursues Dale and Saul in a high speed chase, but Dale and Saul evade her.
Dale and Saul argue about the mess they have found themselves in, resulting in Dale telling Saul that they are not friends and never were. The two part ways, angry and upset. Saul visits his grandmother in an assisted living home and finds Budlofsky and Matheson looking for him. They kidnap Saul and take him to Ted's lair, a barn and underground pot grow house
which used to be the old Army base. Dale enlists Red to help him rescue Saul from Ted, but Red backs out at the last minute and Dale is captured.
While Dale and Saul are held captive, they make up. Just then, a rival Asia
n drug gang attacks the barn to avenge a member's death at the hands of Ted and Carol (coincidentally, this is the murder that Dale witnessed earlier). Dale and Saul free themselves and join the conflict. Dale and Ted endure a brawl that ends in Ted's death when one of the Asians (Ken Jeong
) sets off a bomb that destroys the barn. Matheson kills Budlofsky for refusing to kill Saul when he had the chance. When Matheson is about to kill Saul, Red bursts through the wall with his car, running over Matheson. While Saul thanks Red, Carol reaches for a gun and shoots Red, seemingly killing him. The bomb goes off, first exploding Red's car and the burning car falls on top of Carol, killing her. Dale carries an unconscious Saul out of the burning barn. Just as Saul awakens, Red crawls from the wreckage. In the end, Dale, Saul, and Red go to a diner to eat and celebrate their friendship, then Saul's grandmother picks them up and takes them to a hospital.
's character in True Romance
, a stoner named Floyd. Apatow "thought it would be funny to make a movie in which you follow that character out of his apartment and watch him get chased by bad guys". According to Rogen, the ideal production budget was $40 million, but due to the subject matter - "because it's a weed movie
", as he described it - Sony Pictures allotted $25 million.
David Gordon Green met with Apatow, Rogen and Goldberg on the set of Knocked Up
, and later on the set of Superbad to discuss the project. Green cited The Blues Brothers
, Midnight Run
, Running Scared, the Terrence Malick
written The Gravy Train
and Stir Crazy
as sources of inspiration and influence on directing the film.
Rogen was originally going to play Saul, but Apatow suggested that Franco should play the role instead. After a table read, Rogen agreed, thus casting himself in the role of Dale Denton.
Seth Rogen spoke with musician Huey Lewis
, of Huey Lewis and the News
, about writing and performing the film's theme song in November 2007.
There was an exclusive sneak peek of the film attached to the Superbad DVD
, which was released on December 4, 2007.
of the Chicago Tribune
praised the film's script, noting that it "recalls what made Superbad worth seeing: the sidewinding conversational riffs, the why-am-I-laughing? wordplay." However, he was critical of the second half of the film, and felt that the violence in contrast to the comedy of the first half was jarring and gratuitous. Sonny Bunch of the Washington Times agreed with Phillips, opining that "It’s a shame so much attention was paid to the gun battles and so little to character development." Kelly Vance of East Bay Express
enjoyed Franco's performance, stating that he "steals the movie easily", as well as the authenticity of the film's sets.
A "red-band" trailer for the film, featuring the song "Paper Planes
" by M.I.A.
, leaked
in February 2008. Sony Pictures had the video removed from YouTube
within a few days of its posting. Patrick Goldstein's Summer Movie Posse of the Los Angeles Times
described its incorporation as "the most impressive use of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' ever". The film's makers had been keen on including the song in the film's main trailer and approached M.I.A.'s U.S. label Interscope Records
for permission. She added "Interscope asked me and I was, like, well, since it’s just the trailer, that’s cool. I didn’t really think twice about it" stating she would have thought more carefully about permitting the song's use if it was in the main film, "scrutinizing what scene they were using it in and stuff like that". Pineapple Express had an advance screening at the Just for Laughs
Film Festival on July 19, 2008. The film was released on August 6, 2008. Cable network
FX pre-bought exclusive rights to air the film after its theatrical run. One particular aspect of the film that has been almost universally praised is the cinematography; Seth Rogen even joked on the commentary that "even people who hate the movie admit that it's shot well".
released the film on Wednesday August 6, 2008 with $12,085,679 in ticket sales. Over the weekend it opened at number two behind The Dark Knight
with $23,245,025 for a five day total of $41,318,736. The film went on to gross $87,341,380 domestically with a worldwide total of $101,549,277.
and Blu-ray on January 6, 2009. Both rated and unrated versions of the film are available. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on December 31, 2008. Both the Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD versions of the film come with a digital copy
of the unrated film. As of November 1, 2009 the DVD has sold 2,510,321 and generated $43,033,863 in sales revenue.
" by M.I.A.
is not used in the film or on its soundtrack. Following the trailer's release, "Paper Planes" gained massive airplay, entering the Top 5 on Billboard Hot 100
. Also featured in the film but absent from the soundtrack album are Grace Jones
' Sly and Robbie
produced cover of Johnny Cash
's "Ring of Fire
", the former of which can be found on her 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions
.
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
action comedy directed by David Gordon Green
David Gordon Green
David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He has directed dramas such as George Washington, All the Real Girls, and Snow Angels, as well as the thriller Undertow, all of which he wrote or co-wrote...
, written by Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
and Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg is a Canadian film screenwriter and producer. Goldberg attended Point Grey Secondary School and McGill University before joining the staff of Da Ali G Show along with his childhood friend and comedy partner Seth Rogen. Rogen and Goldberg collaborated the films Knocked Up, Superbad,...
and starring Rogen and James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
. Producer Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
and Superbad, assisted in developing the story, which was partially inspired by the buddy comedy
Buddy film
The buddy film is a film genre in which two people of the same sex are paired. The two often contrast in personality, which creates a different dynamic onscreen than a pairing of two people of the opposite sex. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference between the two...
subgenre. The film was released on August 6, 2008. Franco was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his performance in the film.
Plot
Dale Denton (Seth RogenSeth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
) is a 25-year-old process server
Service of process
Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...
who, in delivering a subpoena to drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
), witnesses Jones and his business partner/girlfriend, corrupt police officer Carol Brazier (Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez
Rosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
), commit murder. Dale panics and leaves a roach
Roach (drug culture)
In Cannabis culture slang a roach is a term for the remainder of a joint or blunt after most has been smoked. Sometimes in the UK, Ireland and other European countries the term roach refers to the cardboard mouthpiece that is used at the end of the joint....
at the scene containing a rare strain of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
called Pineapple Express. Ted subsequently identifies the roach as the strain that he had sold to only one dealer. He sends his two henchmen, Budlofsky (Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Fitzgerald Corrigan is an American actor who has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s.-Life and career:Corrigan was born in The Bronx, New York to an Irish-American father and a Puerto Rican mother...
) and Matheson (Craig Robinson) to the dealer, Red (Danny McBride), who discloses that he has only sold the pot to Dale's dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
).
Dale flees to Saul's apartment in a panic and explains what happened. After a brief conversation, Dale realizes Ted could trace the roach back to Saul. They flee Saul's apartment, while Ted's henchmen persuade Red to arrange a meeting between Red and Saul, but this fails because Dale and Saul spend the night in the woods.
After sleeping for 18 hours, Dale and Saul arrive at Red's house and hope that talking with Red in person will help them determine whether Ted has linked them, and therefore whether he is in pursuit. Instead, Dale decides that Red will reveal their whereabouts to Ted, and the three fight. Convinced that Ted's men are pursuing them, they decide that they must leave the city. Dale goes to his girlfriend Angie's (Amber Heard
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...
) house to warn her and her parents (Nora Dunn
Nora Dunn
Nora Eloise Dunn is an American actress and comedian, perhaps best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
and Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
), but only Angie's father does not believe him. Matheson and Budlofsky pursue Dale and Saul to Angie's house, and her family goes into hiding.
To leave town, Dale and Saul sell some of Saul's Pineapple Express to raise bus fare. A police officer later catches Dale smoking a joint and arrests him for selling the weed to middle school kids. Dale convinces the arresting officer that Brazier is corrupt. Saul saves Dale by hijacking the squad car, while Officer Brazier hears a police radio call of Dale's arrest. She pursues Dale and Saul in a high speed chase, but Dale and Saul evade her.
Dale and Saul argue about the mess they have found themselves in, resulting in Dale telling Saul that they are not friends and never were. The two part ways, angry and upset. Saul visits his grandmother in an assisted living home and finds Budlofsky and Matheson looking for him. They kidnap Saul and take him to Ted's lair, a barn and underground pot grow house
Grow house
A grow house is a property, usually located in a suburban residential neighborhood, that is primarily used for the production of marijuana.The houses are typically outfitted with extensive hydroponic equipment to provide water, food, and light to the plants, and the houses themselves are usually...
which used to be the old Army base. Dale enlists Red to help him rescue Saul from Ted, but Red backs out at the last minute and Dale is captured.
While Dale and Saul are held captive, they make up. Just then, a rival Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n drug gang attacks the barn to avenge a member's death at the hands of Ted and Carol (coincidentally, this is the murder that Dale witnessed earlier). Dale and Saul free themselves and join the conflict. Dale and Ted endure a brawl that ends in Ted's death when one of the Asians (Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong , also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early life and medical career:...
) sets off a bomb that destroys the barn. Matheson kills Budlofsky for refusing to kill Saul when he had the chance. When Matheson is about to kill Saul, Red bursts through the wall with his car, running over Matheson. While Saul thanks Red, Carol reaches for a gun and shoots Red, seemingly killing him. The bomb goes off, first exploding Red's car and the burning car falls on top of Carol, killing her. Dale carries an unconscious Saul out of the burning barn. Just as Saul awakens, Red crawls from the wreckage. In the end, Dale, Saul, and Red go to a diner to eat and celebrate their friendship, then Saul's grandmother picks them up and takes them to a hospital.
Cast
- Seth RogenSeth RogenSeth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
as Dale Denton - James FrancoJames FrancoJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
as Saul Silver - Danny McBride as Red
- Kevin CorriganKevin CorriganKevin Fitzgerald Corrigan is an American actor who has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s.-Life and career:Corrigan was born in The Bronx, New York to an Irish-American father and a Puerto Rican mother...
as Budlofsky - Craig Robinson as Matheson
- Gary ColeGary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
as Ted Jones - Rosie PerezRosie PerezRosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
as Officer Carol Brazier - Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
as Robert - Nora DunnNora DunnNora Eloise Dunn is an American actress and comedian, perhaps best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
as Shannon - Amber HeardAmber HeardAmber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...
as Angie Anderson - Joe Lo TruglioJoe Lo TruglioJoseph "Joe" Lo Truglio is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his work as a cast member on the cult MTV sketch comedy series The State...
as Mr. Edwards - Bobby Lee as Bobby
- Arthur Napiontek as Clark
- Adam Crosby as Ack
- Cleo KingCleo KingCleo King is an American actress probably best known for her roles as Aunt Lou in the HBO drama series Deadwood and Helene Parks in Boston Public. She is also known for portraying police officers, most notably Officer Gardner in The Hangover, and as the abrasive yet helpful school liasion officer...
as Police Liaison Officer - Bill HaderBill HaderWilliam "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...
as Private Miller - James RemarJames RemarJames Remar is an American actor and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character in Sex and the City, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982...
as General Bratt - David C. CookDavid C. CookDavid C. Cook is a nonprofit Christian publisher based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was established in 1875 and publishes fiction and nonfiction. It uses its profits for global ministry. For many years, it published a Christian comic book, Sunday Pix, with stories about the adventures of...
as Chris Gebert - Mae LabordeMae LabordeMae Laborde is an American television and film actress, who began her career at the age of 93 and who is, as of 2010 at age 101, still active .-Background:...
as Mrs. Mendelson - Jonathan Walker SpencerJonathan SpencerJonathan Spencer is a social anthropologist from the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh and currently Head of Subject. He is also a professor of the Anthropology of South Asia. His field of interest include nationalism, politics, violence, Buddhism and Sri Lanka...
as Scientist - Jeffrey Ng as Computer Programmer
- Jack KehlerJack KehlerJack Kehler is an actor. He is sometimes credited as Jack Keeler.Jack has appeared in over 60 feature films, including Men in Black II. One of his most memorable performances was in film Love Liza as Denny, an energetic radio control hobbyist trying to help Philip Seymour Hoffman's character come...
as Walter - Steve BannosSteve BannosSteve Bannos is an American television and film actor and writer. As an actor, he may be best known for his portrayal of Frank Kowchevski on the short-lived NBC dramedy Freaks and Geeks....
as Jared - Ken JeongKen JeongKendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong , also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early life and medical career:...
as Ken - Justin LongJustin LongJustin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
as Justin (deleted scenes) - Troy GentileTroy GentileTroy Gentile is an American teen actor.Gentile was born in Boca Raton, Florida, the son of Debbie Gentile, who once worked at the advertising department of the Boca Raton News, and Albert Farshi, from Iran...
(deleted scenes)
Production
The inspiration for making Pineapple Express, according to producer Judd Apatow, was Brad PittBrad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
's character in True Romance
True Romance
True Romance is a 1993 American romance crime film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette with an ensemble cast consisting of Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin...
, a stoner named Floyd. Apatow "thought it would be funny to make a movie in which you follow that character out of his apartment and watch him get chased by bad guys". According to Rogen, the ideal production budget was $40 million, but due to the subject matter - "because it's a weed movie
Stoner film
Stoner film is a subgenre of films that revolve around the use of marijuana. Typically, such movies show cannabis use in a comic and positive fashion...
", as he described it - Sony Pictures allotted $25 million.
David Gordon Green met with Apatow, Rogen and Goldberg on the set of Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
, and later on the set of Superbad to discuss the project. Green cited The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
, Midnight Run
Midnight Run
Midnight Run is a 1988 American action comedy film starring Robert De Niro as a bounty hunter and Charles Grodin as his prisoner....
, Running Scared, the Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick
Terrence Frederick Malick is a U.S. film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning almost four decades, Malick has directed five feature films....
written The Gravy Train
The Gravy Train
The Gravy Train also known as The Dion Brothers is a 1974 film directed by Jack Starrett with a screenplay by Terrence Malick and Bill Kerby. It stars Stacy Keach and Frederic Forrest.-Cast:*Stacy Keach as Calvin*Frederic Forrest as Rut...
and Stir Crazy
Stir Crazy (film)
Stir Crazy is a 1980 American comedy film starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor as down-on-their-luck friends who are given 125-year prison sentences after being framed for a bank robbery; while in prison they befriend other inmates and ultimately escape. In 2000, Total Film magazine voted it the...
as sources of inspiration and influence on directing the film.
Rogen was originally going to play Saul, but Apatow suggested that Franco should play the role instead. After a table read, Rogen agreed, thus casting himself in the role of Dale Denton.
Seth Rogen spoke with musician Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor.Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs...
, of Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
, about writing and performing the film's theme song in November 2007.
There was an exclusive sneak peek of the film attached to the Superbad DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, which was released on December 4, 2007.
Release and reception
The film has received generally positive reviews from critics with a rating of 68% on the review website Rotten Tomatoes. Michael PhillipsMichael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
praised the film's script, noting that it "recalls what made Superbad worth seeing: the sidewinding conversational riffs, the why-am-I-laughing? wordplay." However, he was critical of the second half of the film, and felt that the violence in contrast to the comedy of the first half was jarring and gratuitous. Sonny Bunch of the Washington Times agreed with Phillips, opining that "It’s a shame so much attention was paid to the gun battles and so little to character development." Kelly Vance of East Bay Express
East Bay Express
The East Bay Express is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland, and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
enjoyed Franco's performance, stating that he "steals the movie easily", as well as the authenticity of the film's sets.
A "red-band" trailer for the film, featuring the song "Paper Planes
Paper Planes (song)
"Paper Planes" is a song recorded by musician M.I.A. for her second studio album Kala released in 2007. The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch...
" by M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
, leaked
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
in February 2008. Sony Pictures had the video removed from YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
within a few days of its posting. Patrick Goldstein's Summer Movie Posse of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described its incorporation as "the most impressive use of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' ever". The film's makers had been keen on including the song in the film's main trailer and approached M.I.A.'s U.S. label Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
for permission. She added "Interscope asked me and I was, like, well, since it’s just the trailer, that’s cool. I didn’t really think twice about it" stating she would have thought more carefully about permitting the song's use if it was in the main film, "scrutinizing what scene they were using it in and stuff like that". Pineapple Express had an advance screening at the Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
Film Festival on July 19, 2008. The film was released on August 6, 2008. Cable network
Cable network
A cable channel is a television channel available via cable television. Such channels are usually also available via satellite television, including direct broadcast satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and BSkyB...
FX pre-bought exclusive rights to air the film after its theatrical run. One particular aspect of the film that has been almost universally praised is the cinematography; Seth Rogen even joked on the commentary that "even people who hate the movie admit that it's shot well".
Box office
SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
released the film on Wednesday August 6, 2008 with $12,085,679 in ticket sales. Over the weekend it opened at number two behind The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
with $23,245,025 for a five day total of $41,318,736. The film went on to gross $87,341,380 domestically with a worldwide total of $101,549,277.
Home media
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray on January 6, 2009. Both rated and unrated versions of the film are available. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on December 31, 2008. Both the Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD versions of the film come with a digital copy
Digital copy
Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...
of the unrated film. As of November 1, 2009 the DVD has sold 2,510,321 and generated $43,033,863 in sales revenue.
Soundtrack
The original motion picture soundtrack to the film was released on August 5, 2008. Although featured in the trailer for the film, the song "Paper PlanesPaper Planes (song)
"Paper Planes" is a song recorded by musician M.I.A. for her second studio album Kala released in 2007. The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch...
" by M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
is not used in the film or on its soundtrack. Following the trailer's release, "Paper Planes" gained massive airplay, entering the Top 5 on Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Also featured in the film but absent from the soundtrack album are Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
' Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie is the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production team of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare who joined in the mid 1970s after having established themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians...
produced cover of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's "Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire (song)
"Ring of Fire" or "The Ring of Fire" is a country music song popularized by Johnny Cash and co-written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore. The single appears on Cash's 1963 compilation album, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash...
", the former of which can be found on her 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions
Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions
Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions is a two disc anthology of recordings by Grace Jones released by Island Records in 1998.Grace Jones recorded three albums with Sly & Robbie in the legendary Compass Point Studios, Bahamas during the period of 1980-1982; Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing and...
.
- "Pineapple Express" by Huey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
(4:27) - "Electric AvenueElectric Avenue (song)"Electric Avenue" is a song by Eddy Grant, from his 1982 album Killer on the Rampage. It was released as a single in 1982, and went on to be very popular, reaching #2 on both United States and United Kingdom singles charts...
" by Eddy GrantEddy GrantEdmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...
(3:48) - "Dr. Greenthumb" by Cypress HillCypress HillCypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
(3:08) - "Lost at Birth" by Public Enemy (3:33)
- "PoisonPoison (Bell Biv DeVoe song)"Poison" is a 1990 single by the New Edition spinoff group, Bell Biv DeVoe. This song—in the style of New Jack Swing, a late-80s hybrid of R&B and hip hop—was the group's most successful, and sings of the dangers of falling in love. "Poison" was the first single taken from Bell Biv DeVoe's debut...
" by Bell Biv DeVoeBell Biv DeVoeBell Biv DeVoe is an American R&B musical group which branched off from New Edition. It consists of three of New Edition's previous members, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe...
(4:20) - "Wanted Dread and Alive" by Peter ToshPeter ToshPeter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
(4:22) - "Don't Look Around" by MountainMountain (band)Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
(3:44) - "Pineapple Chase (aka The Reprise of the Phoenix)" by Graeme RevellGraeme RevellGraeme Revell is a New Zealand film score composer.Revell attended Auckland Grammar School, where he finished his final year in 7A...
(3:03) - "Bird's Lament" by MoondogMoondogMoondog, born Louis Thomas Hardin , was a blind American composer, musician, poet and inventor of several musical instruments. Moving to New York as a young man, Moondog made a deliberate decision to make his home on the streets there, where he spent approximately twenty of the thirty years he...
& The London Saxophonic (2:02) - "Coconut Girl" by Brother Noland (3:36)
- "Hi'ilawe" by Arthur LymanArthur LymanArthur Lyman was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica...
(1:09) - "Time Will Tell by Bob Marley (3:31)
- "Tha CrossroadsTha Crossroads"Tha Crossroads" is a Grammy Award–winning song performed by the hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, dedicated to the late rap icon Eazy-E and released in 1996...
" by Bone Thugs-n-HarmonyBone Thugs-n-HarmonyBone Thugs-N-Harmony is an American Hip-Hop/R'n'B band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1991. It originally consisted of rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Ruthless Records in 1994, when Bone...
(3:45) - "Pineapple Fight (aka The Nemesis Proclaimed)" by Graeme Revell (3:08)
- "I Didn't Mean to Hurt You" by SpiritualizedSpiritualizedSpiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
(5:12) - "Woke Up Laughing" by Robert Palmer (3:35)