Craig Daily Press

If you have always wanted the opportunity to see a movie that contains a crucifix constructed from rolling papers, then the comedy “Pineapple Express” is right up your alley. If not, well...

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) has a pretty typical day-to-day life: Between dating a high school senior (Amber Heard) and donning more costumes than a Halloween shop for his job as a process server, he spends nearly all of his time smoking marijuana. His passion for pot is so great that even being forced to spend time with his clingy dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco), is worth an eventual high.

While sampling an extremely rare strain of the substance, called “The Pineapple Express,” Dale witnesses a murder committed by drug magnate Ted Jones (Gary Cole) and his policewoman accomplice (Rosie Perez). In his panic to get away from the scene, he leaves behind incriminating evidence that will allow Jones to trace him back to Saul.

Paranoia sets in, and the two head on the lam, only to learn they have stumbled onto something even more dangerous than homicide.

Although hardly a stretch for Rogen, the role of perpetual stoner Dale is still a plum one. What makes this even more significant is his portrayal of the straight man to Franco’s brain-addled Saul.

Although both are engaging in their comedic performances, Franco is effortlessly more amusing as the dealer who claims he only got into the business to raise money for his Bubbie.

Danny R. McBride takes it a step further as Saul’s obnoxious supplier, Red, who seems to be virtually indestructible — he remains (barely) standing even after a ridiculously lengthy fight with Dale and Saul, coupled with a beat-down by Jones’s bickering goons (Craig Robinson, Kevin Corrigan), and climaxed by a sizable explosion with him at the heart of the blaze.

As the villain of the tale, Cole is effectively sleazy, if not particularly threatening, as suburban crime boss Jones. However, there is quite a bit more fiery spirit to Perez than the “adorable little cop” who Dale first believes her to be.

With a title that comes from the real-life weather front generated between Hawaii and the West coast — allegedly the source of the weed in question — the movie maintains a distinctly breezy pace, despite its inclinations as an action comedy.

Screenwriters Rogen and Evan Goldberg start things off on the right foot with an almost unrelated film noir-esque opening in which a U.S. Army guinea pig (Bill Hader) in the 1930s tests the bodily consequences of cannabis with hilarious results. Likewise, a theme song by Huey Lewis and The News lends a delightful ’80s feel to the buddy comedies of yesteryear.

Unfortunately, not everything is quite as juicy in this pineapple.

Dale and Saul, while funny, are not nearly as relatable as the teenage protagonists of Rogen and Goldberg’s earlier opus, “Superbad.” The writers construct a premise similar to their last movie, but it burns out much quicker, forsaking any emotion that could be wrought from Dale and Saul’s tenuous friendship for some underwhelming action sequences and tying-up of pointless loose ends — incidentally, your guess is as good as anyone’s as to what kind of bearing Dale’s girlfriend had on the story.

This shift in focus will keep your attention, but probably will not impress you. Even so, as the epilogue comes along, we get a glimpse of that feel-good comedy before the story simply drifts off like a smoker in mid-sentence.

Rogen and Franco are not quite the Cheech and Chong of their generation — a distinction reserved for John Cho and Kal Penn of the “Harold & Kumar” films — but “Pineapple Express” is an easy-going ride for everyone who’s game.