'An American Pickle' Review
PG-13: Some language and rude humor Runtime: 1 Hr and 28 MinutesProduction Company: Gravitational Productions, Point Grey PicturesDistributor: HBO MaxDirectors: Brandon TrostWriters: Simon RichCast: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Jorma Taccone, Maya ErskineRelease Date: August 6, 2020I know I’ve said this before and, by this point, I must sound like a broken record, but what a strange year it’s been for movies. Because of a disease that shall not be named, a ton of movies that were once slated for theatrical releases were forced to find new life on streaming platforms. Many went to Netflix (The Lovebirds) or Hulu (everything from Neon), but WarnerMedia’s HBO Max wanted a piece of the pie, especially with how bushy-tailed it is to the streaming game. One of the first titles they snatched up was Seth Rogen’s An American Pickle, which was initially slated for a theatrical release through Sony Pictures. Therefore, this is the first Warner/Max original movie.
Herschel Greenbaum, a struggling laborer, migrates to America in 1919 in hopes of building a better life for his beloved family. One day, while working at his factory job, he falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years. The brine preserves him perfectly and when he emerges in present day Brooklyn, he finds that he hasn't aged a day. But when he seeks out his family, he is troubled to learn that his only surviving relative is his great grandson, Ben Greenbaum (also played by Rogen), a mild-mannered computer coder whom Herschel can't even begin to understand.
At first glance, An American Pickle seems like the usual Seth Rogen comedy where the concept is so bizarre you know it had to be created while Rogen and his crew were high. But that’s not the case here. In fact, this is based on a short story by screenwriter Simon Rich who worked on various comedy projects like Inside Out, Man Seeking Woman, and Miracle Workers. Because Rich’s strongest ability as a screenwriter is providing charm to absurdist comedy, An American Pickle’s script cleverly takes advantage of its silly concept and provides a light and tender story centered on family, grief, and the consequences of internet fame. Yeah, it even features good commentary on our modern culture.The film boasts a dual performance by Seth Rogen and, as expected, he’s good. Since this is a comedy where Rogen is playing two different characters, I expected him to portray two versions of himself with his familiar shtick, but, surprisingly, he doesn’t. I was expecting something along the lines of Adam Sandler in Jack and Jill, but what I got instead is reminiscent of Nic Cage in Adaptation. You have Rogen as Herschel Greenbaum, an Eastern European immigrant who gets trapped in a pickle barrel for 100 years and wakes up Captain America-style in contemporary Brooklyn, and his great-grandson Ben Greenbaum, an app developer who is trying to make something suitable while avoiding his own internal conflicts and grieving his recently deceased parents. Once their worlds collide, Herschel realizes that his wife’s gravestone has been replaced by a local billboard, so he hatches a plot to buy the area that involves becoming a business owner, making and selling homemade pickles in Williamsburg. Like Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, the film takes an unexpected and fun twist where success comes to the Greenbaum from the wrong generation over the modern man who has worked nonstop to perfect his craft.
Rogen shines in both roles, especially as Herschel, who I thought would be a loud, overbearing, and cringe-inducing person. Though he is, in some cases, the latter, Rogen keeps the character completely grounded. Even when he’s bound to do or say something problematic, you know he has nothing but the best intentions at heart. He’s like a lovable grandpa whose traditionalist views won’t change because he’s old and out of touch, but you love him anyway because he’s still a sweet guy. As far as Ben is concerned, Rogen’s performance is laidback and his comedy is strictly deadpan, for the character is an average joe just trying to get by.Aside from the performances, An American Pickle is a standout amongst other Point Grey projects due to its light-hearted tone. None of the familiar Seth Rogen humor is present — you know, where he’s getting high or doing the slapstick thing — but since this is his first time pulling double duty, all I thought was, “Oh, here we go. Two Seth Rogens, one blunt! Let’s see how it all plays out.” However, the humor mostly stems from the absurd route the story takes and the surrounding environment of contemporary New York. The film tackles modern culture and its obsession with new trends, case in point being Hershel as a larger-than-life story who’s set the media ablaze while selling his homemade pickles in Williamsburg and getting discovered by millennial hipsters. If you’re a New Yorker or are aware of Williamsburg’s culture today, you’ll notice how accurately the situation plays out. It’s the funniest thing the film has to offer.
While the film is thoroughly entertaining, it takes a while for the fun to get going. The set-up is so fast-paced that Herschel is transported to 2019 a mere 10 minutes into the film. Since many dual role comedies have been done before, there are plenty of instances where An American Pickle takes familiar and tropey routes during the latter half.
While I do appreciate the light-hearted tone for such an absurd premise, the execution feels a bit too safe. I’m not saying I wanted shock value comedy because An American Pickle does a good job providing laughs without having to do anything outrageous, but something that irked me was how laid back the atmosphere was. Herschel gets trapped in pickle brine in 1919 and is released in 2019. Instead of being in utter shock over how much society has changed, Hershel is just dazed and confused. There’s even a montage where Ben explains everything technology-based and Herschel is so chill and inexpressive. He acts like a grandpa born in the ‘50s who doesn’t know how to use technology, which should not be the case here. Herschel makes witty comments about technology and it’s relatively weak as far as comedy goes.This film made me chuckle due to the chaotic nature of the plot, but as far as comedy goes, I didn’t really find myself laughing out loud. The funniest joke came courtesy of a Tim Robinson cameo. I mean, this film is so safe that the PG-13 rating is “for language and rude humor.” If that’s not the safest PG-13 rating ever for a Seth Rogen-produced comedy, I don’t know what is. Rating: 3/5 | 67%
