The plot centers on a process server and his marijuana dealer as they are forced to flee from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after witnessing them commit a murder.

Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story.

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), a process server and marijuana enthusiast, visits his drug dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco).

Ted identifies the strain and sends his henchmen Budlofsky and Matheson (Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson) to Red (Danny McBride), a drug dealer who tells them about Saul.

Bobbra believes him as she has long been suspicious of Brazier's corruption and says she will investigate; Saul, thinking he is rescuing Dale, hijacks the police car.

The inspiration for making Pineapple Express, according to producer Judd Apatow, was Brad Pitt's character in True Romance, a stoner named Floyd.

Apatow "thought it would be funny to make a movie in which you follow that character out of his apartment and watch him get chased by bad guys".

[5] One particular aspect of the film that has been almost universally praised is the cinematography; Rogen even joked on the commentary that "even people who hate the movie admit that it's shot well".

[6] Seth Rogen spoke with musician Huey Lewis about writing and performing the film's theme song in November 2007.

I didn't really think twice about it" stating she would have thought more carefully about permitting the song's use if it was in the main film, "scrutinizing what scene they were using it in and stuff like that".

The site's critical consensus reads, "Both funny and scattershot, this loose-knit action/buddy/stoner comedy bridges genres and keeps a steady tempo of lowball laughs.

[19] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune praised the film's script, noting that it "recalls what made Superbad worth seeing: the sidewinding conversational riffs, the why-am-I-laughing?

[20] Kelly Vance of East Bay Express enjoyed Franco's performance, stating that he "steals the movie easily", as well as the authenticity of the film's sets.

Following the trailer's release, "Paper Planes" gained massive airplay and reached the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Also featured in the film but absent from the soundtrack album are Grace Jones' Sly and Robbie produced cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire", the former of which can be found on her 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions.

[24] In order to promote Rogen's 2013 film This Is the End, which also starred Franco, Robinson, and McBride, Sony released a fake trailer for Pineapple Express 2 as an April Fool's Day prank.