Pineapple Express: the most laughs you can get without weed

There's never a good time to witness a murder. But Seth Rogen's character Dale Denton may have discovered the absolute worst case scenario when he chose to light a fat one outside of a major drug dealer's home. His hot-boxing is interrupted by gun fire and a view of blood spattering against the house's glass window, with the dealer and his accomplice police officer visibly armed and guilty. Denton reacts as any already-paranoid murder witness would and drives away in an unfortunately less-than-discreet manner. And so the wild goose chase begins.

The next few days of Denton's life escalate into a jam-packed series of frantic decisions, including car theft, police brutality, illegal drug selling to children, accidental homosexual humping, homelessness and, of course, the occasional doobie with Denton's personal drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco).

Though Rogen performs better than any of his previous roles, Franco carries the film with a hilariously stereotypical stoner impression that delivers lines like, "It's almost a shame to even smoke it," -- regarding the especially rare type of marijuana, known as Pineapple Express -- "It's like killing a unicorn . . . with a bomb." His long hair, disheveled style and stoned-out-of-his-mind persona make it difficult to even recognize the face that has been launched into show business through movies like "Spiderman," "Annapolis," "Tristan + Isolde" and the TV sitcom "Freak and Geeks."

The script was mainly written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the same saint who created "Superbad," though this film easily exceeds any expectations set by "Superbad" or even any other comedy in the past few years. An absolutely brilliant and hysterical masterpiece, "Pineapple Express" is destined to be quoted to the extent that "Anchorman" dialog is used in everyday conversation.

Rogen and Franco will undoubtedly become comedic icons within the next few weeks, as this film instantly becomes a "major hit."