Battle of the Netflix Stars #6

Bout #6: Battle of the Bromantic Comedies

Movie:	Role Models	Pineapple Express
Year:	2008	2008
Director:	David Wain	David Gordon Green
Star Power:	Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks	James Franco, Seth Rogen, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez
Plot:	Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (Scott) have easy jobs selling energy drinks, a life that sex-crazed slacker Wheeler is more than happy with. Danny, on the other hand, hates his life, along with himself and everyone else. When his lawyer girlfriend Beth (Banks) dumps him, he finally loses it and goes on a rampage that lands both him and Wheeler in jail. Beth works out a deal that will keep them out of prison, but forces them to do 150 hours of community service in a "Big Brother"-type program. Danny's charge is Augie, a geeky LARPer, while Wheeler ends up with Ronnie, a troubled foul-mouthed son of a single mom. It soon becomes unclear in each relationship just who is the child and who is the adult.	After eternally stoned process server Dale Denton (Rogen) witnesses a murder committed by a corrupt cop (Perez) and a drug lord (Cole), he is forced to go on the run with his pot dealer, Saul Silver (Franco), after realizing that he left behind some Pineapple Express - a rare strain of weed that only Saul has access to - at the scene of the crime. As the bad guys hunt them down, an unlikely friendship forms between the sensitive, laid-back Saul and Dale, a guy who is awfully uptight for a pothead.
Pros:	The adorable Paul Rudd; a cast featuring members of comedy troupe The State (of which director David Wain was also a member), whose brand of absurd humor is always welcome; the always hilarious Jane Lynch; the amazing kids - Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse and Bobb'e J. Thompson; the mere presence of Ken Jeong.	Rogen and Franco's chemistry and comedic timing; screen vets like Gary Cole and Ed Begley Jr. in hilarious "angry guy" roles; the perfect blend of different movie genres (comedy, action, adventure, drama); the mere presence of Ken Jeong (again), who is quickly becoming my favorite in Judd Apatow's stable of supporting players.
Cons:	There are some clichéd moments, but nothing that will make you wretch.	Although a Jason Segel and/or Paul Rudd cameo would've been nice, I can't really think of any cons. I even liked Danny McBride in this, who I've never found funny. Even more amazingly, Rosie Perez actually didn't annoy me at all!
My Thoughts:	Even though this came out before Rudd's other male bonding comedy, I Love You, Man, I actually saw it after that one and couldn't help comparing the two. I Love You, Man is far superior for many reasons - namely, because Rudd's chemistry with Jason Segel is much better than with Seann William Scott. I just don't see his character and Rudd's character EVER becoming friends, although the actors somehow make it work. And without comparing the movie to anything else, it's just fine. I felt like it was a bit formulaic in parts, but still hit both the "funny" and "heartwarming" marks that it needed to. I will say that, even though I love Paul Rudd, I felt like the real stars of this movie - and the ones who provided the most laugh-out-loud moments - were the supporting cast, especially the aforementioned Lynch, Jeong, Mintz-Plasse, and Thompson, as well as Joe Lo Truglio and Ken Marino.	I wasn't sure I believed all the hype about how great this movie was, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I was never a huge James Franco fan (in my defense, I've only recently discovered the glory that is Freaks & Geeks) and was unconvinced that he was the "revelation" that critics and audiences were claiming him to be in this movie. However, he completely won me over. Saul Silver is one of the most lovable movie characters I've ever seen. Of course, Franco is not all there is to love here. The movie is thoroughly enjoyable, somehow managing to be many disparate things at the same time (action movie and action movie parody, goofy buddy comedy and touching [b]romance) as it throws realistic characters into a ridiculous scenario. Even if you're burned out on the ubiquitous Seth Rogen, this one is not only worth watching, but it's worth owning.
Final Grade:	B	A

Note: As good as these movies are, I Love You, Man is still better than both of them. If you haven't seen that yet, shame on you for six weeks.