An unpredictable amount of violence permeates the heavily intoxicated cast of Judd Apatow’s latest production, Pineapple Express. The jokes are consistently humorous on an immature level, and surprising action sequences regularly surface, but the quality of the content rises and falls like the ever present waft of marijuana smoke. At certain times the realism is put on hold for utter nonsense, and at others the bloody drug wars become alarmingly authentic. This perpetually changing style of comedy makes remembering the high points of the film rather cloudy.

Process server Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) leads a life of ease, constantly serving subpoenas and smoking weed. Save for the anxieties of having a girlfriend in high school, his life somewhat mirrors that of drug dealer Saul (James Franco), who works from home and consistently indulges in his own supply. When Dale witnesses a murder - and leaves a crucial piece of evidence at the crime scene linking him with Saul - the pair attempt to elude the killers and end up on a wild adventure full of car chases, gunfights, gang wars, crooked cops, and the rarest marijuana in the world.

As the film progresses the comedy steadily reaches higher levels of absurdity - as do the levels of action violence and harrowing seriousness. These rather clashing elements are somewhat alleviated with slapstick and an undying comrade, but never reach a satisfying equilibrium. In Hot Fuzz, director Edgar Wright chose to place his comedic characters in a harsh reality, creating a stable vision of dark humor. Pineapple Express opts to weave in and out of believability with characters that also defy the realms of realism, resulting in a movie that starts in situational silliness, progresses into drug-related drama, and ends in an exaggerated action extravaganza. Gunshot wounds, coffee-pot face-scarring, and beating up a policewoman might provide more laughs than you’d think, but such serious topics run contrary to the carefree comedy found earlier in the picture.

Seth Rogen plays himself again, which certainly doesn’t hurt the humor, but giving himself the straight-man part allows others to steal the spotlight. James Franco delivers a truly riotous performance as the wacky drug dealer, Saul, and relishes in the crazy antics and bizarre conversations intrinsic to his character’s constant state of intoxication. Danny McBride also provides numerous moments of verbal and physical ingenuity, but the vast majority of other supporting characters feel wasted, especially funnyman Craig Robinson whose contributions to the jocosity are surprisingly slim.

While Rogen and crew have nailed the immature, weed-friendly humor in their latest outing, such absurd gags and violent slapstick only go so far before feeling exhausted. The highlights of Pineapple Express arise not from such “stoner” comedy, but instead from the snippets of hilarious truths reflected in the troubled relationships imbedded in the buddy flick.

- The Massie Twins