The Socio-Economic Politics of ‘Pineapple Express’

10 min readMar 3, 2021

Pineapple Express: Marijuana in the Film Industry

James Franco and Seth Rogen in **Pineapple Express**

Pineapple Express was released on August 6th 2008 by Columbia Pictures. Premiering during the summer blockbuster release slot, Pineapple Express is a film that fuses the action comedy with a storyline revolving around marijuana with the absurdist comedic stylings of writing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Produced by coveted comedy producer Judd Aptow and directed by David Gordon Green who is known for his drama works, the rated R motion picture pushed the barriers of cinematic production code to demystify the use of marijuana on screen. The satirical buddy comedy starring Seth Rogen as the protagonist “Dale Denton”, and James Franco as marijuana dealer “Saul Silver” ignores all social boundaries of humor and political correctness in a manner that reflects the developing federal laws and socio-political beliefs in the U.S. The film “Reefer Madness” (1936), directed by Louis J. Gasnier, was released in 1936 and the political tone reflects the North American stigma surrounding marijuana as a text of cultural analysis. Comparing The Hangover franchise that’s narratives center around the abuse of alcohol, The Motion Picture Production Code further contextualizes the industries developing sentiments regarding the filming of substance use for cinematic entertainment.

There is not substantial critical research on this film or film genre because of how stigmatized marijuana use has been in society until recent political victories towards legalization. Due to this lack of a discussion in the cinematic field, most research obtained in this article has been collected based on Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg’s experience producing this politically taboo plot film. The specific creative, comedic, and marketing stylings the pair employed in the production process of Pineapple Express were simultaneously pushing the boundaries of the industry and the state of federal law and reflect the evolution of ideology surrounding marijuana in society. In 1936, George A. Hirliman Productions released Reefer Madness, a film dedicated to spreading the idea that teens smoking marijuana would lead to insanity (1).

Promotional Poster for ‘Reefer Madness’ 1936.

This anti-marijuana sentiment has been hard to tear out of the framework of suitable media for public viewership as on screen drug use is feared as glamorizing an unhealthy lifestyle. It is now an infamous representation of the common 20th century fear of ‘Marihuana’ as it was labeled a hard drug, and it’s users labeled as victims.

Bill Hader in opening short of ‘Pineapple Express’

In the opening sequence of Pineapple Express, Bill Hader plays a military test subject, depicted smoking a joint and being analyzed by government scientists (2). The sequence is shot in black and white to imply that this scene takes place in past decades, and the reaction of the scientists to the use of marijuana is cautious and satirical, as a man wears a scuba diver tank suit to light Hader’s joint. The blocking and staging of this short scene come together to play off the hysteria surrounding marijuana that was the sentiment of the Reefer Madness era.

This sequence match cuts directly to the film’s protagonist, Rogen as “Dale” in color, smoking a joint in his car stating “if marijuana is legal within the next five years, I have no faith left in humanity. Period.”

Interestingly, as Pineapple Express was in production in the year of 2007, and in 2012, Colorado was the first state in the US to legalize recreational use, Dale’s opinion written by Rogen and Goldberg was an accurate prediction of the course of US American politics. Standing on the backbones of historical stoner filmmakers like Cheech & Chong, Rogen and Goldberg have modernized the stoner comedy to voice their opinion on this substance’s use and to connect to a niche audience to build a cult following. Even the two films mise-en-scéne, often including personality cars, messy bedrooms and dirty outdoors, Rogen and Goldberg plays into a realistic ‘stoner style’ psychology.

‘House Plant’ Product by Rogen and Goldberg

The pair have been successful in creating some of this generation’s most successful summer comedies and have done so with many of the same revolving cast members. Recently, Rogen and Goldberg have ventured into television, and in 2019, the two premiered their show that is loved and acclaimed ‘The Boys’ on Amazon Prime. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg perfect the buddy comedy formula to go on to produce this generation’s most coveted buddy comedies. Establishing a marijuana service company called “Houseplant” in their home country of Canada in 2019, Rogen and Goldberg seemingly endorse the benefits of marijuana while questioning the federal criminalization of the plant in their work and political views that shine through (3). The changing portrayal of marijuana in the film industry reflects the developing federal socio-political beliefs surrounding recreational use of the substance.

The Hangover Part 1 (2009) and Pineapple Express (2008) are two films that narratives are rooted in the use of alcohol and marijuana, however there is a significant difference in the social reception of the two substances. While there was the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s and into the 1930s, once legalized again, alcohol quickly became socially acceptable again. Marijuana on the other hand, has had a slower socio-political journey, and while recently recreational use has been supported in legislature, at the time of Pineapple Express’ release, marijuana was still illegal to use in any form in the US. Published in 1947, The Motion Picture Production Code states that “No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin” (4).

Pineapple Express and buddy comedies like it that’s storylines revolve around substance use and illegal activities inherently go against the film industry’s code. However, In an interview with the British magazine “Smoking Aces” James Franco addresses the socio-political discrepancies in the film industry stating that “There’s a long tradition of party movies like Animal House or whatever, where they’re drinking a lot of alcohol. I don’t really see any difference between drinking beer or smoking a joint. Hollywood tends to sweep that under the carpet” (5). Compared to The Hangover franchise that’s narrative surrounds alcohol use, a legal abuse of a drug, Pineapple Express surrounds marijuana and characters attempt to obtain, at the characters attempt to obtain the drug, at the time, an illegal substance for harmless recreational use. Pineapple Express is not able to get the same kind of budget as The Hangover series got because their narrative catalyst substance was unrightfully criminalized.

Promotional poster for ‘The Hangover Part 1’

While these production codes are dated and, given the modern day rating system, rather irrelevant in audience reception. In an interview with EW magazine, Rogen revealed that their team asked for a $40 million budget, “But because it’s a weed movie, you get $25 million”(6). Pineapple Express quadrupled its budget, grossing $102 million worldwide. Comparatively, The Hangover Part 1 was granted a $36 million dollar budget and grossed $467 million worldwide (7). There are many factors that could be responsible for the difference in support and reception of these two similar films, but it’s safe to say that the depiction of alcohol substance abuse on screen is still socially more acceptable worldwide. The Hangover franchise features the use of many illegal substances and activities and fails to punish its characters for their breaking or moral and production standards in the same manner Pineapple Express’ narrative structure treated the consequences for their protagonists conducting defensive harm to others. Nevertheless, Pineapple Express includes no use of any substance besides marijuana in safe settings, and all additional life-or-death violence featured in the narrative are the results of freak incidents that have little connection to the use of the substance. Marijuana has made large strides in becoming accepted by society, and compared to the iconic stoner classic by Cheech and Chong, “Up in Smoke” (1978), with a $2 million budget and grossing $44 million worldwide (8), the stoner comedy genre is a prosperous and evolving market with time for socio-political growth.

Promotional Poster for ‘Pineapple Express’

The high stakes of the life or death fights and chases written in Pineapple Express are a form of comedic absurdist humor that’s jokes are satirical in nature, utilizing the lighthearted conventions of the buddy comedy genre to destigmatize the myths of marijuana use. It is notably ironic that even though he plays the airhead marijuana dealer Saul, Rogen noted in an interview with MTV that his co-star James Franco doesn’t smoke marijuana in real life but that Franco still asked Rogen and Goldberg to play the dealer for a challenge (9). Franco, without experience with the substance in reality, plays the archetype of the modern day dealer so that Rogen’s type casted performance as the film’s resident stoner encompasses the representational archetype of the modern day stoner. He turns the performance of a taboo character archetype into art and Franco ends up scoring a nomination in the 2009 Golden Globe Awards for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy” for his role in the film, further demystifying the world of marijuana use.

In a tweet from August 6th, 2018, Seth Rogen admitted that although “Red,” played by Danny McBride, was supposed to be killed off in the middle of the film, Seth and Evan found the actor so funny they wrote him in to keep being violently injured to be obscenely dragged through the rest of the story (10). Rogen and Goldberg recognized something special in McBride’s performance and made the executive decision to put the genuine and the quality of comedy before their narrative. Looking at the film at its surface level, the narrative is not complex or moving, it is the uniqueness of the characters and their relationships that make the film stand out.

However, if Red were killed off in the middle of the narrative and was never given the opportunity to redeem himself as a friend for ratting out Saul, the reception of the value of relationships in this narrative may have been lost completely. In the end, Red saves Saul and Dale from their execution by the enemy drug lords, a convention of the buddy comedy genre in the works. Running Craig Robinson’s character over with his car and saving the day, Dale, Saul and Red win the chase and as they rejoice in a meal at a diner in the films final scene, Red begins to bleed out. Dale and Saul dryly acknowledge that Red who has sustained multiple gunshot wounds and other injuries is remarkably still alive. The lighthearted tone of this scene is fueled by the juxtaposition of the violent absurdity of this films narrative. The fact that the center of all this violence is rooted in the world of marijuana substance use and selling plays off of the cultural fears and myths of the plant.

Pineapple Express is a significant film to the modern contemporary generations influence of the evolution of the industry and political social sphere. The film’s satirical and opinionated implications push the boundaries of what is socially acceptable because there is a market for film that exposes the unknown. Films centered around substance use and taboo topics only further deepen social dialogues and evolve the comedic genre to be more accepting of all walks of life.

Sources:

Meade, Lawrence., Hoerl, Arthur, Gasnier, Louis J., and Hirliman, George A. Reefer Madness Seattle, WA: Something Weird Video, 1993.
Cooper, Matthew. “9 Frame Analysis of Pineapple Express.” LinkedIn SlideShare, December 13, 2011. https://www.slideshare.net/coopermatt62/9-frame-anaylsis-of-pineapple-express.
Hasse, Javier. “Seth Rogen On His New Weed Products: ‘We Want Consumers To Understand Cannabis On A Deeper Level’.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, October 16, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2019/10/16/houseplant-seth-rogen-weed/#9d82 4e8208dd.
Shurlock, Geoffrey. “The Motion Picture Production Code.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science254 (1947): 140–46. www.jstor.org/stable/1026152.
Smoking Aces. 2008. Empire. 10, https://search-proquest-com.oca.ucsc.edu/docview/2218218?accountid=14523 (accessed December 12, 2019).
Halperin, Shirley, and Shirley Halperin. “Marijuana Movies: High Expectations.” EW.com. Accessed December 12, 2019. https://ew.com/article/2008/04/11/marijuana-movies-high-expectations/.
“The Hangover.” IMDb. IMDb.com, June 2, 2009. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119646/.
“Up in Smoke.” IMDb. IMDb.com, September 15, 1978. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078446/.
Myersjan. “You’ll Never Guess Which ‘Pineapple Express’ Star Doesn’t Actually Smoke Weed.” MTV News, December 16, 2014. http://www.mtv.com/news/2027311/james-franco-doesnt-smoke-pot/.
Clopton, Ellis. “Seth Rogen Shares ‘Pineapple Express’ Facts on Its 10th Anniversary.” Variety, August 6, 2018. https://variety.com/2018/film/news/seth-rogen-pineapple-express-facts-10th-anniversary- 1202896781/.

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The Socio-Economic Politics of ‘Pineapple Express’

Written by Ella Gillmor

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