James Franco: Renaissance man. Graduate, satirist, artist. Now after exceptional turns in this month’s Milk and Pineapple Express, the man who frowned his way through Spider-Man 1-3 has finally snaffled acclaim for the day job.
There were five Judd Apatow-produced films in 2008. Franco’s the best thing about any of them. He plays pot dealer Saul, Brad Pitt’s True Romance cameo turned feature-length.
The town’s sole flogger of the titular weed, Saul and client Dale (Seth Rogen, in his 45th film of the last 12 months) go on the run after the latter witnesses a drug murder.
There’s lots of massacres and stoned people actually talking like they’ve ingested an eighth (so we’re told). Sure it’s too long and the final shoot-out is Hot Fuzz-ripped, but overall? Ideal post-pub one-watch viewing.
Extras-wise, there’s a commentary so crowded it’s mostly impossible to tell who’s who and a gag-light gag reel.
The chat-track zings when the gang invent a game (“Every time Franco talks, you have to mainline heroin into your balls”), but it often feels superfluous. Probably would have been better with just Franco.
Jonathan Dean
