A lot of things came to mind after seeing Pineapple Express. And (spoiler-alert lite) I will share a few of them here (and this, as I’ve learned from my court-appointed "therapist," is what he means by "good share"):
1) James Franco is friggin’ hi-LAR-ious. I mean, I’d seen his Funny or Die "acting lessons" so I knew the dude had a sense of humor, but I was completely unprepared for his absolutely stonerificness. Not since Brad Pitt’s Floyd in True Romance have I been so transfixed.
2) It might’ve been 20 percent more effective if I wasn’t "in my right mind." Pineapple Express feels like it was designed to be watched while stoned; it starts as a perfectly legitimate, grounded-in-reality flick about a dude who just happens to witness a murder and goes on the lam while trying to clear his name—but it climaxes in a crazy action sequence with fireballs and shootouts and martial arts duels and some of the ol’ ultraviolence. Plus, breakfast. All of which would make complete sense if you’re baked…not so much if you’re sober.
3) Craig Robinson should be a mothereffin’ star. As an a-little-too-sensitive drug thug, Robinson (pictured, far left) steals every scene he’s in—or makes a hell of a try for it. He kills with softness on The Office. And, take my word for it, he’s stronger than leather in October’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Why is this dude not top-lining his own movies? Why is he not using a supporting role in a Judd Apatow production—much like Seth Rogen did in The 40-Year Old Virgin—to launch into Hollywood’s upper atmo? I’m sure it’s not because he doesn’t want to. I guess Robinson and fellow Apatow posse–veteran Romany Malco (and what do they have in common, I wonder?) will have something to talk about next time they bump into each other.
What did you think of Robinson’s Pineapple turn? Any other thoughts on this weekend’s No. 2 movie? Then by all means, share ‘em!
We can only assume that the similarity you reference is their current affilitation with pot-centric programming. Not since “Reefer Madness” has such blatant and misguided prejudice been evident.
The car chase with the unconventional windshield ornament killed me – well, almost, as I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. I tried to describe it to someone this morning, and the same thing happened… and now the men in the white coats may be on their way, as I was again laughing so hard all I could get out of my mouth was gibberish. I may have to see it again just for that one scene.
On a serious note, Craig Robinson was great when he co-starred in “Lucky” on FX back in 2003. It was the show that starred John Corbett. If that show survived, I think he’d probably be a much bigger star right now. He’s definitely an entertaining actor.
I’m a stoner and I was underwhelmed by the movie. Not that funny.
I thought Craig Robinson was the best part of the movie. I’m so over the ‘manchild’ role of Knocked Up that Seth Rogen duplicated in Pineapple Express…ugh. Also, please never compare James Franco to Brad Pitt’s Floyd in True Romance – the comparison isn’t even close. Floyd was brilliant.
Craig Robinson KILLS me. I’ve seen him play bit parts in several movies, and each time he’s absolutely hilarious. I was so hoping the rumored “Office” spin-off would have somehow centered on his character..but alas, it was not to be.
I agree that he should be a bigger star because he’s absolutely fantastic! However, if the choice is between headlining crap movies that Martin Lawrence would normally appear in or smallish, scene-stealing turns, I’ll take the latter every time (though I’m not sure Robinson would, since the former would pay a LOT more).
Loved that he had a showcase in “The Negotiation” episode of “The Office” (Is that a ladies’ suit?).
Also, my scene with him as the doorman in “Knocked Up” is one of my favorites (“You old, she pregnant. Can’t have a bunch of old pregnant b*tches running around. That’s crazy!”)
Craig is effortless as an actor, I would love to see him in more movies. But good movies, not I’m-doing-this-for-a-fat-paycheck movies.
You’ve obviously never watched Freaks and Geeks if you didn’t know James Franco had it in him
this movie was funny. James Franco was awesome! And whoever played “Red” (I didn’t recognize the actor) was also really funny. I thought the “fight scene” in Red’s house was awesome & the duct tape scene was hilarious!
The only thing I don’t get is why that high school girl, attractive & seemingly normal would date Seth Rogan’s character… if she wanted a non-attractive stoner loser… surely there were plenty to chose from her own age. Anyway, I had to suspend my belief on that one…
Whitney at PopCandy interviewed Craig. http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/
She thinks he is a star on the rise as well!
I was utterly unimpressed with this movie. My husband gave it an F—. The two shining spots in the movie were Craig Robinson and the guy who played Red.
I love Craig Robinson and I love Danny McBride (Red.) McBRide is hilarious in every movie he is in, even if the movie itself isn’t that great, i.e. Heartbreak Kid and Hot Rod.
I definitely want to see more of Robinson on The Office and in movies.
I’m not gonna lie, I was stoned and it was HIGH-larious. I do want to see it a second time sometime, not stoned, and see if it’s still the brilliant work of art I think it is right now.
Craig is hysterical on the Office. I can still dissolve into giggles if someone says “fluffy fingers”.
Craig Robinson was frickin’ AWESOME in Pineapple Express (ditto James Franco… who knew??). I’d plead with the movie gods to put Craig in more movies but then I might not get to see him every week on The Office where he plays one of my faves. Too funny for words.