Slushee Savior
The scene that I’m going to analyze is from
-
Pineapple Express
in which Saul and Dale’s relationship really comes to a head. Saul goes to light a sneak-a-toke pipe and Dale is extremely frustrated and goes to state that perhaps they don’t function all that well sober. Saul tries to provide the example that by being hit by a cop car and throwing slushees he saved him from being arrested when in reality the lady cop believed Dale about the murder and corrupt police.
Dale goes to state that they’re relationship is purely a business matter.
“Saul: How about in the park, when I said you were my friend… you didn’t say anything back.
Dale Denton: Well, that’s easy. It’s because we’re not friends. You are my drug dealer. The only reason I know you is because I like the drugs you sell. If you didn’t sell drugs, I would have no idea who you are, and I wouldn’t be here right now. I would be fantastic!
Saul: Oh.
Dale Denton: I’m sorry, that sounded really mean… just to hear that, that sounded really mean.
Saul: No, I see. The monkey’s out of the bottle now!
Dale Denton: What? That’s not even… a figure of speech.
Saul: Pandora can’t go back into the box – he only comes out.”
-(IMDb.com 2008)
This scene is really the culmination of what Dale has been struggling with the entire film. Saul really IS his best friend as is apparent in him going to rescue him from a fortified grow operation while its being attacked by rival asian drug runners, yet he can’t seem to cope with the fact that that is what his life has come to at the time. Things change after they rescue eachother as it turns out in a sort of trial by fire friendship.
It seems like this is more than just a pothead movie… are there any expressions of friendship between the two characters that don’t involve pot in one way or another (obvious I know, but in the example you give there is pot in the grow operation). If pot weren’t in the picture, does Saul do anything to indicate that he would still be loyal to Dale?
Also, Dale is coming off in your descriptions as a tortured kind of comic hero. Does he spend a lot of time analyzing this friendship (in the dialogue, for example)? Does he have other worries not related to Saul (is he a brooding kind of character)?
Nice man. Nothing like trying to analyze a movie about trying to find weed. or certain type of weed. Classic seth rogan movie. haven’t actually seen the movie, but from your qoute i can tell it has some of those “what the hell did that guy just say” or “what is the dude doing” movie parts. You know the ones im talking about. “Half baked”, “Don’t be a menace in south central”, and “Knocked up” (of course).