The Father, The Son and The "Pineapple Express"

I wrote this essay this past semester in my film studies class. My professor was your stereotypical film snob, and in fact resembled Woody Allen in a lot of ways. When my professor gave us the assignment to analyze a film and its inner workings, he told us to chose a film that was deep and meaningful. Something that provoked some sort of thought process. He said if we felt that a Farelly Brothers film provided us with deep thoughts then we could do it on that. The way he said it though was in a condescending and sarcastic tone, meaning he really didn't want us to do a film like that for our essay.

I knew the majority of the class was going to kiss his ass and do a film that came from the French New Wave or a film from the silent era or something that could be considered pretentious. Don't get me wrong--I love those films, but I felt like doing something different. That, and I really wanted to spite my professor for being an elitist snob. So after talking about it with the bro, I settled on doing my essay on Pineapple Express. Not only did the film seem to have little to no purpose on the surface, but it also had Seth Rogen in it and my film professor just loved ragging on Seth Rogen for no apparent reason. It was a win-win.

I was surprised how much symbolism was in the film, and within 15 minutes of re-watching it I already had my thesis statement. I got an A on the assignment. I think this is an important lesson for all fans of film--just because Akira Kurosawa didn't make the film doesn't mean it is a bad film. The argument would be different if we were talking about Michael Winterbottom...

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The stoner action comedy, Pineapple Express (2008), can easily be dismissed as a meaningless film that only has the sole purpose to entertain college students and stoners alike. However, this David Gordon Green directed film hardly succumbs to the stereotypical stoner comedy. Religious imagery and symbolism is beyond prevalent throughout the entire film. Whether or not writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg purposely put this imagery in the movie is up for debate, but this film can no longer be labeled as a frivolous and vapid piece of work. Pineapple Express explores religious undertones through the use of symbolism, characterization and mise en scène.

Pineapple Express is packed with religious symbolism, particularly the reoccurrence of the number three and physical representations of the numerical figure. Three is a significant number in Christianity. It refers back to the Trinity, also known as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The number three reappears quite frequently throughout the film. Saul Silver (James Franco), Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) and Red (Danny McBride) form an alliance in the film to fight off Ted Jones (Gary Cole), the hit man hunting these men down and his mistress, Carol (Rosie Perez), a corrupt police officer abusing her power to save her lover. Saul, Dale and Red symbolize the Holy Trinity in human form, combining their forces to prevail in this battle of good versus evil. This isn’t the only place where the number three comes into play. In Saul’s apartment there are three television sets. One of the sets is shut off, while the other two are playing two different programs. One television set is playing an old sitcom, Good Times, while the other set seems to be playing Lord of the Rings, a modern day picture, which is a technological representation of the Trinity. The strain of marijuana that everyone is fighting over, known as "Pineapple Express", is the force that brings these three men together in the film. In one scene, Saul describes the Pineapple Express to Dale as “God’s vagina”. In the same scene, Saul and Dale smoke a “cross joint” that is in the shape of a crucifix. These instances allude to the audience that this particular strain of pot is one of a holy nature. Pineapple Express is referred to as God, or rather God’s lady parts, implying that Pineapple Express is indeed God. Following this form of logic, when this strain of ganja is inhaled these men become possessed by God. Thus, these three men are a form of God and become the Holy Trinity.

Saul Silver, the forever stoned drug dealer bares a striking physical resemblance to Jesus, with his long, brown hair and lax fashion that displays his meager living. Even though Saul is slow in nature and seems to always be high on something, he is regularly described in the film as being a “good guy”. Saul remains loyal to his friends, and sticks by Dale even after they engage in a huge fight over their friendship, or rather lack there of. Saul also proves to be a very forgiving man. He still manages to forgive Red, and proclaim that he is his best friend after Red betrayed his trust many a time, embracing Jesus’ mentality for forgiveness. Red, on the other hand, represents Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus. In the film, Red acts as if he is looking out for Saul and Dale’s best interest, when in fact he already told Ted’s second hand men that he sold the Pineapple Express exclusively to Saul. Red gets Saul and Dale over to his place, and after a clumsy attempt in hand-to-hand combat, Red admits that he ratted Saul out but will protect him in the future. However, Red betrays Saul once again by immediately admitting to the gangsters where Saul and Dale are hiding out. Throughout the film, Red escapes death at every turn. His neck almost gets broken, he is repeatedly shot at, bleeding to death for the duration of the film, and miraculously survives a massive explosion in an isolated farm house. Red represents immortality, a trait that is only seen in one being -- God.

Many of the scenes in this film display the Holy Trinity in some way, shape or form such as the grouping of television sets in Saul’s apartment. One scene, however, depicts the art of getting high as being a religious experience. When Dale and Saul are trapped in the woods, it is decided that they need to hitch a ride to get to Red’s house. Before doing so, Dale and Saul smoke some of the Pineapple Express they have left. The mise en scène creates a feeling of serenity and happiness. This engulfing, claustrophobic forest these two men were once frightened of becomes an open space. Trees are farther apart than they were when we first see them in the wilderness, illustrating that the young men are at peace with their surroundings. The lighting becomes soft, hitting both characters from behind. It appears to be that this scene is taking place right before sunset, when the sunlight is glimmering throughout the forest. This effect gives Saul and Dale an angelic look, creating a halo effect. This halo effect symbolizes that something holy is occurring in this scene, that these two men are having a religious experience with their pot. Everything in the scene is copacetic. Saul and Dale are becoming one with nature, whilst exploring their spiritual bliss.

Pineapple Express is more than just an action-packed stoner comedy. Combining entertainment with traces of religious imagery produces a film that the viewer can escape in and think about long after the movie is over. With the use of symbolism, biblical character representations and mise en scène, Pineapple Express articulates religious motifs in a film devoted to the heavy use of marijuana. The film conveys intellectualism mixed with stupidity. To create a work that blends two contradicting statements together is no easy feat. In fact, it makes the film just that much smarter.