Back in early 2009, I saw an article that talked about the hardest-working men in Hollywood. Seth Rogen placed second on that list, and that didn’t come as a surprise. The guy appeared in seven movies released during 2008! Granted, he did voice work in three of them and offered cameos in the other two, but the dude sure did keep his dance card filled.

Of Rogen’s two lead roles, Pineapple Express came out first. Here Rogen plays Dale Denton, a process server who seems to enjoy his life. He dates hot high school student Angie (Amber Heard), and his job allows him plenty of time to pursue his favorite hobby: smoking dope.

That means frequent visits to his goofy dealer Saul (James Franco). During one trek to obtain pot, Saul introduces Dale to a super-potent blend called Pineapple Express. Dale digs this stuff and eagerly partakes.

Indeed, when Dale goes to drop a subpoena on Ted Jones (Gary Cole), he takes a smoke break first. While he puffs, he sees a murder take place inside Jones’ house. Understandably freaked out, Dale flees the scene and drops his Pineapple Express roach in the panic.

Bad move: the main pot supplier in the area, Jones identifies the blend. Dale rushes to Saul for assistance, but the dealer realizes the pot could be traced to him. From there they embark on a series of misadventures as they attempt to stay alive.

From now on, I will recognize no words scarier than these: “directed by David Gordon Green”. I’d not thought about the director since I saw his indie flick George Washington way back in 2002. To say that the film didn’t impress me would be an understatement. Indeed, I thought the movie was a self-indulgent piece of nonsense that I thoroughly disliked.

Green slipped under my radar until Express, and I didn’t even connect Washington and Express until after I’d seen the latter. That means I was able to enter Express without a preconceived disdain for its director, so I was open to its charms.

Or I would’ve been open to its charms if it’d offered any. My, what a pointless mess of a movie! After I saw the movie theatrically, I noted on a message board that the entire girlfriend plot was useless. The film could've completely omitted the Angie character/thread and been no worse for it - that whole side of the movie was virtually pointless.

Actually, the whole damned movie was pretty much useless. I chuckled three or four times and that was it. The rest of it was a relentless mix of pot smoking and slapstick. Can't think of anything clever? Let's hit someone in the head with an ashtray!

Slapstick has been around forever, but it's turned into cheap comedic shorthand. Movies just throw out the violent gags as an easy laugh, and they're everywhere - almost every comedy these days resorts to slapstick non sequitors to milk uncreative humor. It's as bad as the use of handheld camerawork to make dramas/action flicks "edgy".

I’ve seen Express described as a movie about pot smoking told from a pot smoker’s point of view. Perhaps that’s correct, and maybe that’s why I didn’t like it. Never having been one to partake in the demon weed, I can’t relate to that viewpoint.

But it seems to me that if you must be stoned to enjoy/understand a movie, then that movie comes with inherent flaws. For me, Express wasn’t funny and it seemed pointless. Add to that the fact it felt like it went on forever and this became a rather unenjoyable experience.

Pineapple Express appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. For the film’s second Blu-ray release, it comes as part of Sony’s “Mastered in 4K” line. What the heck does that mean? Here’s what Sony’s press release promises us:

“’Mastered in 4K’ Blu-ray releases will feature titles sourced from pristine 4K masters and presented at high-bitrate 1080p resolution, with expanded color showcasing more of the wide range of rich color contained in the original source. When upscaled via the Sony 4K Ultra HD TVs, these discs serve as an ideal way for consumers to experience near-4K picture quality. ‘Mastered in 4K’ Blu-ray Discs can be played on all existing Blu-ray Disc players.”

Old DVD fans will remember Sony’s “Superbit” program, as it came with similar promises. Superbit DVDs and “Mastered in 4K” BDs jettison all supplements to theoretically optimize picture/audio quality.

Sharpness looked terrific. If any soft spots materialized, I didn’t see them; this came across as a distinctive, tight image. No concerns with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge enhancement remained absent. Source flaws also failed to create any problems, as this was a clean presentation.

In terms of colors, Express tended to go with a mix of teal and amber. Within those choices, the colors appeared well-developed, so I encountered no problems with them. Blacks were deep and firm, while shadows showed good delineation. Overall, this was a strong transfer.

I felt the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack of Pineapple Express worked fine, though I anticipated something livelier. The film came with a few action scenes, and those didn’t flesh out the spectrum as well as I expected. They added a bit of pizzazz to the proceedings, but not a lot of activity filled the room. The back speakers mostly focused on general ambience; even when the film boasted gun fights, the front channels clearly dominated.

Music demonstrated good stereo delineation, and the effects showed solid localization. This was never a particularly engrossing soundfield, but it created an acceptable sense of place.

Audio quality was always good. Speech sounded crisp and distinctive, and music followed suit. The score was consistently lively and full. Effects also demonstrated nice vivacity and accuracy, with decent bass response along the way. Although I expected something a bit more involving from the mix, it still seemed more than acceptable.

How did this 4K Blu-ray compare to the 2009 DVD? Audio was a bit peppier and richer, while visuals showed obvious improvements. The Blu-ray offered much better definition and seemed cleaner and smoother. (Unfortunately, I never reviewed the 2009 Blu-ray, so I can’t compare to it.)

As stated earlier, the 4K line leaves out any extras. That means the commentary and other useful elements get the boot here.

Plop Pineapple Express at the top of a list of comedic disappointments. I found a mere handful of minor laughs here, as the vast majority of the movie left me bored. The Blu-ray presents great picture and good audio along with no supplements. The absence of the bonus materials disappoints, but this Blu-ray presents the film well.

To rate this film, visit the Unrated Special Edition review of PINEAPPLE EXPRESS