A Math Wiz who is too good to be true

GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 1997)

Films about child prodigies or twentysomething geniuses rarely get inside their heads and ask: "What makes you tick?" An even tougher question rarely posed is: "How do you deal with who you are?" Slight films in this category that could have been great include Jodie Foster's "Little Man Tate," and the predictable Rocky-crossed-with-chess-playing tale "Searching For Bobby Fischer." There's also the finely acted "Stand and Deliver" that dealt with inner-city kids who miraculously performed better in A.P. Calculus exams than anyone else, but they didn't exist as anything more than ciphers. One film that broke through that barrier was the marvelous "Amadeus," which depicted the rare talents of the wonderful composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in blazing glory with, naturally, great music to alleviate the senses. The Oscar-winning film was a three-dimensional portrait of Mozart presenting him as a buffoonish clown who didn't seem arrogant, but knew how good a composer he was. Now there is also "Good Will Hunting," a finely acted, well-written drama about a math genius who is too good to be true, and that is part of the film's problem.

The charismatic Matt Damon stars as the conceited orphan Will Hunting; a South Bostonian hooligan who drinks, fights, and generally fools around with his buddies. He works as a janitor at MIT and, once in a while, he solves complex math problems posed by an MIT professor (Stellan Skarsgard) on a hallway blackboard. When the professor finally spots him solving a problem, he decides to use Will as a math instructor to solve all kinds of difficult math theorems that had conflicted scientists for centuries. Will is reluctant at first, but he decides to go along with it since it is way of avoiding jail time. It also means that he has to see a brilliant therapist (Robin Williams) twice a week - a former child prodigy who will try to uncover what makes this troubled kid tick.

Will has the ability to see through people - he can make Harvard students envious with his textbook knowledge of politics, and he can drive people mad with aggravation, including the therapist who Will discovers is a widower. Lest anyone think that he's just a brainiac, Will also has the ability to love, especially a British Harvard student (Minnie Driver) who wants to help him grapple with his emotions. There's a priceless scene where he picks up Minnie at a bar. She asks if they could get together for coffee. He suggests caramels: "When you think about it, it is as arbitrary as drinking coffee."

"Good Will Hunting" has a terrific premise - a troubled genius who suppresses his past - and although the film deals with his abusive past, it never confirms or explains Will's genius. Where does it stem from and, more importantly, how does Will feel about his own intelligence? The movie treats Will as a misunderstood genius rather than allowing Will to see how he mistreats and misunderstands himself. That's probably too much to expect from a film, but I wouldn't have minded to see Will's brain at work - how about a scene where we see the mental process by which Will solves a math problem? There are some instances where we see Will's genius at work (the courtroom scenes where Will avoids misdemeanor jail sentences by quoting legal cases from the 19th century is a good example) but they are not enough to show how Will's mind unravels. Mostly, we see the selfish MIT professor trying to use Will's mind as an experiment for his own ambitions, and there's the therapist who is trying to get Will to confront his past - yes, you've seen these subplots before.

"Good Will Hunting" has plenty of expert performances from the cast, including Matt Damon ("Courage Under Fire") as the fast-talking Will; Ben Affleck ("Chasing Amy") as Will's beer-drinking buddy who has a pivotal moment where he tries to convince Will to take advantage of his talents; the luscious Minnie Driver as Will's girlfriend who loves him; and the grand Robin Williams as the hip therapist who has been down the same road as Will. Williams, in his Awakenings mode, is brilliantly understated and a joy to watch as we see him gradually trying to get Will to open his heart. His final scene, where he repeatedly acknowledges to Will that it is "not your fault," is emotionally powerful and heartbreaking.

"Good Will Hunting" is competently directed by Gus Van Sant ("Drugstore Cowboy") but Van Sant never gets as close to Will's nature as he did to River Phoenix's in "My Own Private Idaho." The first-time screenplay by co-stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon is often smartly funny, manipulative and quasi-sentimental but not as freshly developed as I might have hoped. By the end of the film, you feel that Will Hunting is more like an unreal movie character than a genuine, three-dimensional human being.

Anonymous police drama

COP LAND (1997)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 1997)

 Sylvester Stallone has not had a beguiling career since the heyday of "Rocky" nearly ten years ago. Since then, he's tried and failed with comedy ("Oscar"), musicals ("Rhinestone"), and endless sequels ("Rocky V"). Stallone is usually best in his action roles such as "Rambo" or "Cliffhanger," but his range as an actor is fairly limited. "Cop Land" is supposed to be Stallone's first very dramatic role (at least since the slight but still watchable "F.I.S.T") but there's no energy and no enthusiasm, much like the movie itself.

Stallone plays Fred Heflin, a simple-minded, stolid sheriff of Garrison, a fictional New Jersey town. His chain of command in this town is nil, and he only has two other people in his staff. His basic duties are relegated to traffic duty. The New York cops who run this Jersey town are controlling everything but there's corruption boiling everywhere. Michael Rapaport plays a cop nicknamed Superboy who inadvertently kills two black teenagers during a car chase. The police want to cover it up, and Superboy supposedly commits suicide by jumping off a bridge. Fred is oblivious to these surroundings and decides to take no action against the corrupt cops because they put him where he is now. A colorful Internal Affairs officer (Robert De Niro) tries to get information from the unwilling Fred but fails. It turns out Fred is more interested in a cop's wife (Annabella Sciorra) but when people start getting knocked off, he decides he has to do what is morally correct. He gets some guidance from a former cop (Ray Liotta) who is also a cokehead.

"Cop Land" could have worked with some imaginative direction, a stronger plot and a better performance by the lead actor but it is no different from any TV movie on the same subject. There have been countless movies on police corruption - the best of these was the decadent "Bad Lieutenant" - and so there's nothing here we haven't seen before and better. For example, there's a gun planted at a crime scene; a typical Internal Affairs interrogation scene; badges flashed by several cops; nonessential bar fights; and a final, cliched shootout staged in slow-motion a'la Peckinpah. None of this is handled with any energy, flash, or vigor - it has a TV movie staleness that discomfits rather than enthralls.

Stallone is inarticulate as a dramatic actor and, although that might help the role, he sleepwalks through the film with no trace of humor or passion. Harvey Keitel is naturally more animated as an actor but his corrupt cop character is something he can play in his sleep. Ray Liotta is convincingly frantic as the druggy cop but his role is too similar to his Henry Hill character in "GoodFellas." Peter Berg, Frank Vincent, Michael Rapaport, Cathy Moriarty, Janeane Garofalo and Annabella Sciorra play trivial, forgettable roles with no inner life or central meaning to the story. A chance meeting between De Niro and Keitel is wonderful to behold but the scene is never followed up on. Ditto the Garofalo character, a new cop in Heflin's staff, who helps Heflin at the beginning but then decides to leave town. Why? Where's the transition?

"Cop Land" is directed by James Mangold who helmed the brilliant character study "Heavy." This film, though, has the same snail pace and static energy, and it deadens rather than enliven the proceedings. Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta breathe life into the film whenever they appear on screen. Stallone and "Cop Land," however, are too ordinary and listless to keep anyone interested. Watch the invigorating TV show "NYPD Blue" instead.

Interview with Peter Zaremba: Hear that American Beat on the Silver Screen

INTERVIEW WITH PETER ZAREMBA: HEAR THAT AMERICAN BEAT ON THE SILVER SCREEN

By Jerry Saravia

Peter Zaremba, performing with the Fleshtones at the World Cafe Live, Oct. 2013

We are so inundated with hearing songs in movie soundtracks that we have become immune to the true rock and rollers, the ones that have their songs played loudly while burning up the screen and riveting our attention. There are but a few that manage to work so well, to convey some subtext or serve as commentary on what is happening on screen. I always think back to Jackson Browne's melodic "Late for the Sky" in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," the use of Iggy Pop's electrifying "Lust for Life" in "Trainspotting" or its more subtle use in "Desperately Seeking Susan." As far as commenting on the action, I am not sure if that is the case with the Fleshtones' "American Beat" song which is featured in a bizarre scene in 1984's "Bachelor Party" where sales clerks at a jazzy jean store called "Neon Jeans" dance to the tune. My favorite line of dialogue is when a customer is ready for checkout and the salesgirl says, "Can't you wait until the song is over?" Maybe that was the whole point - just wait for the song to be over and we will get back to the movie. Feel that American Beat.

I had the good fortune to discuss this and other Super-Rock Fleshtones matters with the one and only Peter Zaremba, the Fleshtones band member who sings, plays harmonica and the keyboards (for the uninitiated, the other band members include Keith Streng on guitar, Ken Fox on bass and Bill Mihizer on drums). He was also once the host of MTV's "I.R.S. Records Presents the Cutting Edge" from 1984-87. The Fleshtones, one of the best live bands on Earth, had played at the now defunct CBGB's in New York in 1976 and have been on the road ever since, even to this day. Mr. Zaremba took a few moments from his Spain tour to discuss the use of  the band's songs in films, his own treatment for a film that never got made, and his love for the theme of "Modesty Blaise."

1.) Tell me the story of having to re-record the song "American Beat" (original recording was in 1979) for the 1984 raunchy comedy, "Bachelor Party." I understand the issue of re-recording came down to rights to the song and, though I think it is a song that could've or should've been more commercially viable considering the box-office success of the film, I still do not get the connection of that song to that movie. I like when songs feature lyrics that in some shape or form relate to the film's themes or character arcs, but I do not see it with Tom Hanks as a lovable loser staging a bachelor party.

Peter Zaremba: 'I haven't thought about the exact circumstances for quite a while! Actually, we had gotten the rights back for the material we had recorded for Red Star already at that point. Miles had wanted us to rerecord Shadow Line for "Urgh! A Music War" and our first IRS album. Marty Thau was very reasonable about the whole thing and let us have all our songs back at a very low price as not to hold us up, and that included "American Beat," which of course I should have entitled "American Sound" but I was too clever by a half in those days. Anyway, Keith came up with the idea to rerecord the song with horns. Miles Copeland was working on that movie for Tom Hanks at that time. he was very involved in more than just the soundtrack. It's too bad the movie was already completed because when the director and producers heard "American Beat" they liked it so much they made it the 'theme' to "Bachelor Party" and said they would have had us perform the song in the movie if it hadn't been too late. They also used "Hall Of Fame." In typical Fleshtones fashion, we never built on that great 'in' to movie work because we manage to insult the director, the producers, Tom Hanks and everyone else by mocking the movie in front of them all during the studio screening. I think Keith also feel asleep during it, right next to Hanks who of course noticed. Hanks next film was "Splash,"  his real breakthrough into major box office star - "Bachelor Party"  actually did quite well for reasons I never understood. Oh well, it was great for us anyway. As to our songs connection to anything in the film well, you said it but it was cool that the film makers liked our music so much, up to that point!'


2.) Was an official soundtrack ever released for the crazy 1985 flick, "The Party Animal", and how did featuring songs like "Roman Gods" and "Right Side of a Good Thing" come into play for that film?

Peter Zaremba:  'I don't think there ever was an official album. Bob Singerman was our manager at that time and since we knew all these good bands with good tracks like REM and Smithereens, he got everyone on to the soundtrack. I wrote a theme song for it that the Fleshtones recorded, but the demo was so primitive that it was rejected. I rewrote the lyrics and we recorded it as "Whatever Makes You Happy" for both The Fleshtones and The Love Delegation.'

3.) I like that the soundtrack for 1986's "My Chauffeur" that features a sampling of your band's song "What's So New About You" in addition to "Tommy Gets his Tonsils Out" by the Replacements. Definitely an eclectic mix for a lighthearted movie. Is it a little more exciting to be featured in a soundtrack where another terrific band is featured, or were you unaware about who else was on the soundtrack?

Peter Zaremba: 'Oh that was Roberts again. He had a knack for getting these connections for a while. I have never seen the film, I thought it was soft core porno or something."

                                                          
4.) With the exception of 1996's "To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday" and 1987's "I Was a Teenage Zombie," the Fleshtones have not been featured in any other film soundtracks since. Or have they? Were there any other projects that had considered a sampling of your music? I keep thinking directors like Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips, Oliver Stone and others might have benefited by using some of your band's music for their kamikaze, frenzied and perhaps lyrical filmmaking styles.

Peter Zaremba: 'What's the movie about Gillian's Birthday? Never heard of it. maybe it's a Streng song? (Note: Song "Let's Go" is used) Well to answer your question, no I don't think so although I do think our songs would be perfect for movies. I get really jealous when I hear all the cool songs in these movies by the directors you mention. Yeah, Jim Jarmusch, he was casting once at the Bayou Hotel in New Orleans when we were staying there, but we were too busy or shy or whatever to approach him . What was that movie he was shooting then? Down By Law? was that him? And Scorsese! I'd die to get into one of his movies, we'd fit right in! "Wolf Of Wall Street"? Sure. "Goodfellas"? Hell, we knew some of those people!

I wrote a treatment for a movie called "The Ghoulman." I thought it was pretty good actually and Robert sent it around to some Hollywood people who shop that kind of stuff I got. A great rejection letter back. It was so good that I titled the letter "critique of Ghoulman". I still have it somewhere. This woman really took the treatment apart point by point, but at least she seriously read the idea, maybe too seriously. Too ahead of its time. Of course many films of a somewhat similar vein have been done since then. Too bad, but it did have all these Ghoulman songs that we wound up recording. Oddly enough, the song "For A Smile" that we recently recorded with Mary Huff was also intended for that soundtrack, originally entitled "Johnny Go Wild." I intended it to be sung by the late Wendy Wild.

I don't think we've had a song perfectly used in a soundtrack yet, although I dug "I'm Back Again" coming out of a radio in "The Wire." Scorsese really uses rock and roll well. Keith has a track called Le Mistral, maybe THAT was used as a b side of a single or a vinyl only album track, anyway, I mixed that with movie theme use in mind. no takers....yet!

Hey I love the theme to "Modesty Blaise" (1966 spy comedy starring Monica Vitti and Terence Stamp) ever since I first heard it booming out of the speakers in the movie house as a kid. I like a lot of other stuff by Johnny Dankworth, like that song in the party scene in "Darling" (1965 film starring Julie Christie). I'd like to cover that, maybe in French!'

Noir wrapped in ivory silk

THE DEEP END (2001)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 2001)

I was stunned after seeing "The Deep End." Here is a film noir story with the machinations of the thriller genre but all wrapped in ivory silk, as if any and all cliches that could occur are withheld in the service of melancholia. This is noir that is not really bleak and a thriller that looks for behavioral characteristics to thrill us, all told with an absorbing sense of serenity that distinguishes it from most other thrillers.

The film begins with a jeep arriving at some undisclosed nightclub in Reno. A tall, lanky, red-headed woman warns a sleazy guy to stay away from her son. We are unaware of what the situation is but we know he represents sleaze and we know she is a worrisome mother. It turns out the mother's son, Beau (Jonathan Tucker), is having a homosexual affair with Darby Reese (Josh Lucas), the sleazy guy at the nightclub who owes a huge gambling debt. Beau's mother, Margaret (Tilda Swinton), wants him to stay away from Darby since all he represents is trouble. When Darby makes an unscheduled visit at their house in Lake Tahoe, Beau pleads with him to keep away. Darby will keep away if Margaret pays him $5,000. A fight ensues resulting in the accidental death of Darby. The next day Margaret finds the body and thus, the film's moral center takes over in an unusual, lyrical manner.

I will not say much more except that this serenely modest thriller is different from most Hitchcock thrillers in that usually the protagonist and the audience is aware of information that no one else is aware of. In this case, we know the truth behind the accidental death of Darby that no one else in the movie knows. Not even the seedy man from Reno knows (played by"E.R.'s" Goran Visnjic) who demands money to keep his mouth shut from what might be a potential murder. And Margaret does her best to keep calm and hide Darby's body. She wants to protect her son, her father-in-law, and her other son and daughter from the evils of the world, notably Reno.

Tilda Swinton is clearly the star of "The Deep End," imbuing the screen with a vitality and strength that is breathtaking to witness. I have only seen her in one other film, the magnificent "Orlando," but her performance here makes me want to pursue her earlier work. Perhaps even more so than Cate Blanchett, Swinton has a sense of authority as the doting, respectful mother that dominates the screen. It is no accident that the number of closeups in the film enhance her strong, magnetic presence. Interestingly, Swinton's Margaret seems to barely take notice of her children except for Beau - it is a family life where the father-in-law is more concerned about her than anyone else (including her unseen husband who is a Navy officer).

"The Deep End" is directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel III, who previously collaborated on "Suture." They have an uncanny eye for detail and savor appropriately breathless cinematic moments that never disrupt the pace or momentum. I found the shot of Swinton underwater while looking for car keys from Darby's body positively thrilling and unnerving to watch. Also look closely at framed shots of Swinton, usually seen from windows or from other obstructions (one extreme example is a fish-eyed lens shot reflected in a drop of water). Water and glass are prominently featured whenever Swinton's Margaret appears on screen and it nicely balances with the Lake Tahoe setting - prominent yet unassuming.

"The Deep End" is occasionally melodramatic towards the end and climaxes sooner than it should have. Still, a magnificent central performance by Swinton, not to mention an understated cast and a hauntingly lyrical tone that switches from engaging thriller to a heart-rending love story, more than makes up for it.

Small-town acts of violence

IN THE BEDROOM (2001)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"In the Bedroom" has all the hallmarks of a great film - nuanced performances, assured direction and a terrific script of sublime restraint. But like some potentially great films, something happens that prevents them from fulfilling their promise - an extraneous, flawed ending.

Set in the summer season of Camden, Maine, the movie opens with a shot of two lovers roaming in the fields, caressing and kissing each other. Not a word is said between them - love or lust is in the air. Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl), a graduate student, is the boyfriend of the more mature Natalie Strout (Marisa Tomei), a mother and a wife to a lout of a husband. Natalie is about to get divorced and Frank is convinced this woman is the one for him. Of course, Natalie has her problems. She has two kids and an abusive husband, Richard (William Mapother), who insists on moving back into their house to be near the kids. Richard wants Natalie back and is prepared to do anything to get her back.

Meanwhile Frank's parents, Ruth (Sissy Spacek) and Matt (Tom Wilkinson), feel that Frank should be tending to his studies, not to a woman he may not have a future with. Ruth is the more concerned, unforgiving parent who senses trouble around the corner of Frank's future. Matt simply wants his son to be happy and does not boss him around. A fight ensues between Frank and Richard but Frank's father agrees to keep the whole situation quiet.

"In the Bedroom" is the latest in the serene, melancholic noir stories where incidents in a small town determines a character's morality and puts them to the test. It is a methodical, keenly observant drama, told in the same lyrical style as "The Deep End." Therefore, like all films dependent on surprises, it would not be fair to reveal what happens in "In the Bedroom." The surprises and twists in the narrative say as much about the characters as a Hollywoodized plot would. But the last quarter of the film makes such a dramatic turn that I was a little angry and dismayed. Let's just say that Matt's character, a good man and a good father, commits an act of malevolence so unsuspecting and unbelievable that I could not see it as anything beyond a cop-out. Though the closing shots are nicely conveyed, the dramatic U-turn in plotting the development of Matt's character leaves something to be desired.

It is a shame really because three-quarters of "In the Bedroom" is riveting and compelling. Director and co-writer Todd Field (an actor making his feature debut) weaves an amazing cast of actors into phenomenal characterizations within the backdrop of a small town where nothing much happens. Ruth and Matt are two characters I will not soon forget. Ruth is a choral director by day who seems to lack much communication with her silent husband. Matt is a doctor by day who plays cards with his buddies and is mostly intent on living his life day-by-day. He might also be taking his wife for granted and Ruth senses this and acknowledges as such. Spacek and Wilkinson are a match made in heaven and wonderful to watch in each and every scene.

"In the Bedroom" is a film of silences and gestures - a look or a stare says more than an actual line of dialogue. Consider one terrifically timed scene where Matt sits at his buddy's restaurant by the window and he notices a truck that arrives and stops exactly where he sits. The logo on the truck is "Strout." Or consider moments where Ruth watches her husband mow the lawn after a tragic incident has taken place in their lives. Todd Field has a future as a director if he wishes to pursue it - he knows silence is golden in accentuating characters' emotions. It's just that his endings need improvement.

TANTRA, BABY!

GO (1999)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(originally written in 1999)

I have become sickened by all the Tarantino rip-offs, too many to mention. Almost all have none of the grace, wit or humanity that dear Quentin invests in his own works. They are like well-designed wallpapers flung with graphic violence, countless obscenities, and numerous rock n' roll/rap songs and packaged as something shocking and new. Some star Michael Madsen, Martin Sheen or Dennis Hopper. "Out of Sight" was the most dazzling but that had the advantage of a great author, Elmore Leonard, as its basis, and Steven Soderbergh, a stylish director. The new "Go" is different - it's as symmetrically close to "Pulp Fiction" as you can imagine but it has an electric energy and volume all its own.

The film begins with a supermarket checkout girl named Ronna (soft-voiced and droopy-eyed Sarah Polley from "Sweet Hereafter") who establishes a drug connection for two handsome soap opera stars, Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr). Ronna's drug of choice is ecstasy, which one member of her elite group nearly overdoses on and imagines speaking to a cat with Zen subtitles. Ronna has to deal with the seedy drug dealer, Todd (Timothy Olyphant), who has a propensity for sexual favors. But when her good friend, Claire (Katie Holmes), another supermarket checkout girl, is left alone with this devil, things truly go haywire.

After Ronna's predicament, we flash back to the beginning of the story told from the point-of-view of a thick-accented, red-haired Brit, Simon (Desmond Askew). Simon is a drug connection for Todd (Ronna is the replacement) and goes off to Vegas with his pals, including the suave Marcus (Taye Diggs) and a stoner who thinks he's black, Tiny (Breckin Meyer - always the pothead). Unfortunately, after a debacle involving backroom lap-dancers ("Do not touch!"), they are now on the run from a vicious gangster (the terrifically oily J.E. Freeman). And it is here where we experience one of the most dazzling car chases ever filmed to the tune of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride."

Then the story flashes back again and we see the story told from the point-of-view of the two soap opera stars, who are working undercover under the tutelage of the Teutonic cop Burke (William Fichtner), a character that makes you squirm. Burke invites the pair to a Christmas dinner that is fraught with misunderstandings and unclear intentions. Let's just say it is a howler of a sequence, guaranteed to keep you laughing at its inevitable payoff.

The characters, as well as the audience, experience one near-catastrophe after another, and all the characters seem intent to make a whole 24-hour, Rashomon-like experience as dangerously exciting as possible with no inhibitions - they will do absolutely anything for thrills. There are gangsters, awry drug deals, dances to the tune of "Macarena," distorted visions, extreme violence, conversations about Tantric sex and the comic "The Family Circus," and lots more to feast the eyes and the ears.

"Go" is suffused with electric energy throughout - there is not a moment that is not thrilling or kinetic in any way. Director Doug Liman ("Swingers") frames his charismatic actors with tension abounding every step of the way by means of a constantly roving camera. The opening titles show a stroboscopic club where silhouetted patrons dance the night away in light blue hues, and the editing is lightning-paced. This brilliantly sets up the rest of the film's pace, and sometimes Liman will slow down long enough to study the actor's faces.

I enjoyed all the actors on screen, but Sarah Polley has a dole-like quality that is more realistic than the cardboard teens shown in other films - I could not stop looking at her. Katie Holmes displays a sensuousness and a charm that made me swoon. I also liked the merry soul of Taye Diggs, a definite star-in-the-making.

"Go" may remind many of "Pulp Fiction," but this film has its own momentum, and plenty of style to spare. It's a crazy film that will keep you on edge - funny, energetic, joyous, jolting, ironic, and tense. You can't ask for a better time at the movies.

Bogart some other joint

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (2008)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Maybe if I had laughed more than I had in the first twenty minutes, I might have given "Pineapple Express" more than a pass. But after twenty minutes of spontaneous chatter about marijuana, the show "227" and some high-school theatrics, "Pineapple Express" becomes a depressingly and distressingly moronic and monotonous time-waster.

Seth Rogen is Dale, a process server who wears various disguises to deliver subpoenas. Dale loves to smoke weed and buys it from a drug dealer named Saul (James Franco), whose very existence is on being an intercontinental expert on weed. Oh, yes, Saul loves to smoke too, especially a type of weed called "Pineapple Express," the kind of weed that smells like "God's vagina" and smoking it is the equivalent of killing a unicorn. These types of absurd metaphoric lines are what makes "Pineapple Express" special at first - a sort of "Harold and Kumar" or Cheech and Chong stoked on an absurd, nirvana high. These scenes give the movie a special lively kick of zonked-out humor played with a certain level of restraint. Seth and Franco seem relaxed, confident, and stoned.

But then Dale witnesses a murder at Ted Jones' house - Ted Jones (Gary Cole) is supposed to be served with one of Dale's subpoenas but that can obviously wait. Jones also buys weed from Saul, especially the pineapple express which no one else outside of Ted or Saul smoke. Yes, Dale smokes some, and throws it out the window when he sees the shooting. A drug war starts between the Asian crime syndicate (do not ask) and Ted Jones and his band of incompetent hit men. They are looking for Dale, whom they mistake as Asian. Rosie Perez pops up as a crooked cop who participated in the murder. We get car chases, brutal beatings, shootings, burnings, crushed bodies, and a poor soul named Red (Danny R. McBride) who is shot several times but manages to survive, ready for battle. Then there is Dale's high-school girlfriend and Ed Begley, Jr. as the girl's father and more confusion inside suburbia, and the movie rambles on and on.

Unfortunately, precious little of this is funny. "Pineapple Express" automatically thinks that such a wayward, formulaic plot is funny, but it is nothing more than a toked remake of "True Romance" (Franco's stoned character is based on Brad Pitt's stoner in "True Romance"). In fact, director David Gordon Green amps up the violence to such a degree that you might think you stepped into a high-octane action picture. Tarantino could handle this sort of thing with flair and comic timing yet "Pineapple Express" becomes grossly overdone and thrusts on overkill with a huge body count. I won't say it rivals a Rambo picture but there are more killings than in "Pulp Fiction." There is a solidly hilarious car chase involving two police cars and Saul's leg stuck through the windshield. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of these wild, frantic visual gags as such. Compared to the Coens' classic stoner comedy, "The Big Lebowski," itself a stoned noir comedy that gradually loses interest in its own plot, "Pineapple Express" falls quite precipitously by comparison.

Seth Rogen is smartly cast and has a good rapport with James Franco - they have their bromance that actually works. Their early scenes at Saul's apartment or their endless chatter when stuck in the middle of the woods are witty and pungent. The rest of the movie just wallows in hysteria and drawn-out gunfire and repetitive stabbings, beatings, slashings, immolation, etc. It just leaves a nasty aftertaste for the alleged stoner comedy of the first twenty minutes. It needed more of "The Big Lebowski" stoned flavor to really be (s)toked.