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PINEAPPLE EXPRESS As far as crude, rambling, shaggy-dog comedies go, this one's better than most of the modern-day crop. In a sense, this harkens back to the "buddy flicks" so rampant in the 1980s, odd-couple outings like 48 HRS. and Midnight Run (no wonder iconic '80s band Huey Lewis and the News was tapped to belt out the closing-credits title song). Here, the pair are process server Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) and drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco); they're forced to take it on the lam after Dale witnesses a drug lord (Gary Cole) and a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) commit cold-blooded murder and the killers are able to trace the rare pot ("Pineapple Express") that Dale leaves at the crime scene back to the eternally fried Saul. Under the direction of N.C. School of the Arts grad and indie filmmaker David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls), Rogen again scores in his standard role as a disheveled slacker with a way with words, while Danny McBride, another N.C. School of the Arts alumni and star of the disappointing martial arts comedy The Foot Fist Way, offers broad laughs as a duplicitous drug dealer with seemingly more lives than a Looney Tunes character. Yet the biggest surprise is Franco: Generally the blandest of pretty boys, he succeeds in his change-of-pace role as a long-haired stoner. And it's Franco who's at the center of what will likely remain the summer's funniest sight gag. I won't spoil it here, but let's just say that viewers probably won't ever look at car chase clichés the same way again. ***
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 The 2005 screen version of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was based on the first novel in Ann Brashares' best-selling series, but this sequel reportedly combines the events from the remaining three books in the franchise. One reason is probably because the studio felt that audience interest wouldn't extend past a second installment, while another might be that the four ascending stars are now keeping busy with other projects. Besides, who wants to eventually see 30-something actresses still playing college-age kids? (It brings to mind the final film in the Porky's series, wherein high school boys were suddenly having to contend with receding hairlines.) Yet by ending it at number two, the filmmakers have insured that this series won't be subject to the laws of most franchises and grow shoddier as it creaks along. A solid follow-up to the solid original, this might feel a bit more scattershot than its predecessor, but its engaging characters, entertaining situations and emotional reach help keep it afloat. Set three summers later, it finds brainy Carmen (America Ferrera) heading to Vermont to work in theater (check out a funny Kyle MacLachlan as the pompous director), introspective Bridget (Blake Lively) traveling to Turkey for an archaeological dig, rebellious Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) remaining in New York to work on her film, and shy Lena (Alexis Bledel) finding romance at the Rhode Island School of Design. Problems are worked out in an orderly manner, tears are shed in sincere fashion, and everyone is reunited in sunny Greece, with nary a single ABBA-mangling peasant in sight. ***
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS Pop quiz, hotshot. Which line of dialogue does not appear in a Star Wars movie? A) "May the Force be with you." B) "Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son." C) "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause." D) "Does sweet'um want some num-nums?" I wish I could say that the correct answer is D), but all four lines appear in one installment or another, with that atrocious final snippet appearing in this animated eyesore. The early word was that only Star Wars fanatics would enjoy this addition to the franchise, but that's grossly inaccurate: As someone who was 11 years old when the original film hit theaters back in 1977 and thus has always considered it a rite-of-passage milestone, I was nauseated upon stumbling out of George Lucas' latest sorry attempt to squeeze every last penny out of this franchise. Set in the period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, this focuses on the war that helped the evil Empire take over the galaxy. The plot concerns the efforts of Anakin Skywalker and his sassy apprentice, a teen named Ahsoka Tano (Lucasfilm, meet the Disney Channel), to rescue Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped baby boy (nicknamed "Stinky") from Count Dooku and his posse. What sort of nonsense is this? The CGI animation, which director Dave Filoni states was inspired by both Japanese anime and Thunderbirds' puppets, is harsh on the eyes and proves to be aesthetically unpleasing. A couple of action sequences manage to elevate this out of the realm of utter despair, but for the most part, this is curdled cinema that even the fans will upchuck. *1/2