by Shane Conto
What could be possibly better than one Seth Rogen doing his Seth Rogen laugh throughout a 90-minute film? Two Seth Rogen’s of course!
But don’t let my terrible opening joke fool you about An American Pickle. Do not go in expecting a stoner comedy like Rogen does so often. This film provides a surprising amount of sentiment and emotion. Can you believe it? Especially when you think about the fact that this film is about a man who was pickled for 100 years. On a side note, you REALLY have to take things at face value and suspend some serious disbelief. Hey, even the film makes a joke about how this “science” works. But you know, even if a film jokes about its lack of logic doesn’t mean it automatically works. But let’s not get lost in the weeds. An American Pickle is a really solid flick coming your way from HBO Max, the first of hopefully many high-profile films from the new streamer.
Easily the biggest selling point of this strange comedy is the impressive and dual performance of Rogen.
He is able to really portray two distinct characters while building a surprisingly poignant relationship with himself. You heard that right. The film really only focuses on the two main characters both portrayed by Rogen. As the pickled man himself, Herschel Greenbaum, Rogen throws on an accent and an impressive beard. Rogen is able to convey a very masculine persona (which is honestly something different for him) while shining through with his faith and love of family. On the other side, he also portrays the sensitive and hipster great grandson of his own character. Ben Greenbaum questions his religion and has underlying grief from the loss of his family. Herschel and Ben’s deepest conflict comes from the disconnect in how they deal with said grief. The relationship is surprisingly heartfelt…for most of the film. The film takes a different course during its second act as they become rivals. Unfortunately, this conflict does not feel as earned as the connection they share earlier on.
The most surprising aspect of this film has to be the opening sequence that sets the stage for Herschel.
Cinematographer John Guleserian brings a tinted color palette along with an old school aspect ratio to the prologue. Rogen provides a funny and informative voiceover that outlines the backstory for the rest of the film. The sequence really stands out from the rest of the film and I mean that in a good way. This grabbed my attention from the start. That is really important because the rest of the film takes the audience for a rip-roaring ride. One of the biggest issues with this film is the haphazard way that many of the shifts in story and tone occur. Brandon Trost, a career cinematographer, takes the reins as the director for this project. The pacing that Trost sets is a bit awkward as large shifts in the story are presented then completely turned around in less than 5 minutes. Not enough time is taken to let these changes really sink in. We continue at a breakneck pace instead and rush on to the next gag. To be honest, the conflict that comes between the two members of the Greenbaum clan even feels too rushed after they have some really sweet and emotional moments.
One thing that you have to give credit for is the fact that this film swings for the fences.
Screenwriter Simon Rich aims at themes from family, grief, religion, immigration and immigrant life, traditional ideals, and so much more. That sounds like too much, doesn’t it? You would be correct. The film only allows for a few minutes or so to aim at some of these gags. It is a tough order to deliver so much in a limited 90 minutes of the runtime. The positive is that laughs are still delivered even when some of those themes are either surface level or just really low hanging fruit (here’s looking at you “discriminatory thoughts about people from someone who lived in the early 1900’s).
With the impressive turn(s) from Seth Rogen and the surprising amount of heart, An American Pickle gifts its audience a satisfying if not flawed experience.
Do you have HBO Max yet? You might want to get on that so you do not miss out on the fun.
Grade: B-