An American Pickle (2020)

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HBO Max arrives to become one more proof of how vital streaming has been to new filmmakers and writers all around the world. An American Pickle is the very first original film released by the respective service, and it gives the opportunity to Brandon Trost (solo directorial debut) and Simon Rich (feature film screenplay debut) to demonstrate their talents. Despite my curiosity about what they could offer, my eyes were obviously focused on Seth Rogen’s double performance. Even though he’s not the greatest living actor, I always enjoy his comedic roles, most recently in Long Shot and The Lion King. Possessing a premise with tremendous potential to deliver amazing laughs, how did it go?

Well, I’m surprised by how grounded and “realistic” Trost and Rich’s approach ends up being. In the first twenty minutes, everything points to a straight-up ridiculous story where the most absurd things occur. Basically, I love every single thing until the title card shows up plus a few more minutes. Herschel’s life goals, his relationship with her lover, what leads to him getting brined for a century, the (technically brilliant) “scientific” justification that they give after he’s found out to be alive and that he didn’t age a day… Everything is ludicrous, but what would you expect from the already crazy premise?

Never forget: having the wrong expectations (unrealistic, overhyped, nonsensical) can quickly turn your experience into a nightmare. An American Pickle has an absurd narrative because it develops an absurd concept. That’s what’s so incredibly entertaining about it: the possibilities are infinite as long as the people at the helm are creative enough. This is why I feel somewhat disappointed that primarily Rich couldn’t take this story even further, both character and story-wise. In fact, as soon as the end credits started to roll, my first thought was “is it over already?”

Throughout the whole runtime, the viewers have to deal with only two characters who aren’t deeply explored. Herschel is a man out of his time, but with his impressive determination and hard-working personality, he seems to surpass every challenge thrown at him. On the other hand, Ben struggles to get his product/idea on the market, but he doesn’t seem to have the same will that his great grandfather holds. Therefore, the whole narrative is stuck on a loop of Herschel doing things right, and Ben getting jealous over it and trying to mess with his success. Each reiteration becomes less funny, less entertaining, and less plausible (I can accept most plot points, but some are indeed way too nonsensical for the world it finds itself in).

Obviously, the comedy bits are almost all linked to Herschel and, as expected, to his dated cultural knowledge. It’s a matter of time until he says something he shouldn’t, mostly stuff related to his views on religion, racism, and every sensitive subject you can think of. Some viewers might even get offended by a couple of jokes, which are precisely the ones I laughed at the hardest. Unfortunately, Rich’s screenplay doesn’t have the imagination a premise like this demands (too focused on stereotypes and easy jokes), but having in mind this is his first writing role in a feature film, it’s a good start. Trost does a pretty decent job, especially when it comes to film two characters interpreted by the same actor, so I wouldn’t mind seeing these two working together again.

Nevertheless, it all comes down to Rogen’s double performance, and he nailed it. He’s the main reason why I’m giving this movie a positive review. He’s able to dive into these characters in such a compelling manner that, at some points, I genuinely thought this film was written and directed by him. It feels like a personal project, something that I can easily picture as a Seth Rogen’s movie. He’s hilarious when he needs to be, and extremely serious when the time calls for it. Finally, I don’t look at this film as a comedy because ultimately I don’t even think it is. It’s strangely a sweet story about family and why it should matter so much to every single one of us.

All in all, An American Pickle surprisingly takes a grounded approach on the “man out of his time” concept, making the whole message about “family”, even though its premise is absolutely bonkers. The first act sets up a logically ridiculous yet hilarious story that unfortunately doesn’t quite reach its potential. Debutants Brandon Trost and Simon Rich do a reasonable job with the narrative, but Rich could have explored the main characters a bit more, having to ultimately thank Seth Rogen for such a fantastic double performance. The style of humor present in the movie will not work for everyone, but it definitely did for me, even though it lost steam throughout the runtime. Its comedy is at its best when it tackles the dated cultural restrictions in Herschel’s mind. It’s a short, fast-paced story, with a neat score by Nami Melumad (Michael Giacchino wrote the themes), that anyone can enjoy just as long as they have the right expectations.

Rating: B-

'An American Pickle' feels like a film with so much potential, but potential that is never fully embraced. It isn't the job of a reviewer to say what a film SHOULD have been, but to offer a critique of the film they're actually seeing. In that spirit, the problem with 'An American Pickle' is that there are really two films here jostling for dominance. Personally, the heartfelt comic fable about two generations of Jewish men finding a new place for themselves in the world while dealing with their grief is the film I was rooting for out of the two, not of two snarky men trying to find new ways to bring each other down. As it stands, 'An American Pickle' has an uneven flavour, where the many ingredients don't entirely come together.
- Daniel Lammin

Read Daniel's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-an-american-pickle-an-uneven-comedy-that-hasnt-quite-fermented-enough

it is the trailer first caught me, I love the idea of an outdated man being overwhelmed by the modern world and struggle to adjust for nowadays life crises. the world must be so bizarre in his eyes but still much better than one hundred years ago (since we had made a long way).

....and I found the average score is not even made the pass line, I'm very hesitated. but the intro said it's an adaption of an NYT novel, so that must be worth something.

it's actually not bad to watch.

sure the scriptwriter chooses the easy way out and not dressed most of the modern-day problems, but you can feel his sincereness about the story. the movie does not express well but you get the "family matters most" the main idea.

and Seth Rogen is sooo cute in both characters. I mean don't you just wanna look straight into his sparkling eyes, rub his face and hug him like hugging a huge teddy bear?

it's not the preaching with laughs movie I've been expected, but it's ok to watch for idle Sundays

This movie stars Seth Rogen in a dual role as Herschel, an early 20th century Eastern European Jewish immigrant, and Ben, his last remaining descendant. To paraphrase a Family Guy episode, Seth Rogen looks funny even when he's not doing anything funny. Why, then, is An American Pickle, so unfunny (I laughed exactly one (1) time)? My theory is that two Rogens cancel each other out. My other theory is that the makers were going for a circa early-to-mid 70s Woody Allen-style film; Sleeper and Love and Death come to mind. The problem is that Allen himself stopped making that kind of movies about half a century ago (and even he had the good sense to use cryopreservation in Sleeper, which at least sounds sciency, as opposed to a brine-preserved body).

Much of what passes for conflict here stems from a billboard advertising vodka that has been erected adjacent to Herschel and Ben’s family plot. The former is determined to buy the billboard, which Ben says costs $200,000, and tear it down. The billboard, mind you, is facing the cemetery and not the street (and it’s established that Ben hasn’t visited the plot in at least five years, so not even he has seen the vodka advertisement). Why this billboard – which makes about as much sense as the ones in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – can be so costly and at the same time so worthless, is never explained.

Another good question is, what are the odds that Herschel and Ben, separated by a hundred years and several generations of (one hopes) exogamy, could pass for identical twins? Not good, especially when they look at old family photos and we see that none of Herschel's descendants look anything like him or Ben. The only reason for this genetic anomaly is that the script requires a case of mistaken identities during the climax of the film. That's it.

Wracking my brains to find a good reason for this film to exist, it occurred to me to interpret it as an allegory of Donald Trump’s rise to power. After all, Herschel is a narrow-minded, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and misogynistic jerk who thinks and says horrible things, but who has a good head for business, allowing him to become popular and successful. That Herschel learns absolutely nothing and never gets his comeuppance is an indication that I may not be too far off.

But then I realized two things; first, even if my hypothesis were correct, the movie would have to be entertaining – which it isn’t – before it could work as satire; and second, I'd be giving the filmmakers way too much credit, when they probably just wanted to do a live-action remake of An American Tail.

(CASTELLANO) Encurtido en el tiempo es una comedia bastante tonta, pero también tiene algo simpático. Parte de una idea absurda —un inmigrante queda conservado durante cien años en una cuba de encurtidos y despierta en el Brooklyn actual— y la lleva con una mezcla de humor bobo, choque generacional, ternura familiar y un punto de mala leche. No es una gran película, pero se ve con agrado.

Lo mejor está en el contraste entre los dos personajes de Seth Rogen. Herschel viene de otro mundo: es bruto, antiguo, trabajador, cabezota, lleno de prejuicios y con una idea muy primaria de la familia, el honor y el esfuerzo. Ben, su bisnieto, es justo lo contrario: moderno, inseguro, tecnológico, solitario y perdido en una vida mucho más cómoda, pero también mucho más vacía. La película funciona cuando enfrenta esas dos formas de entender el mundo.

Hay chistes que salen bien precisamente por lo simples que son. El choque entre un hombre de principios del siglo XX y la sensibilidad actual da para momentos graciosos, algunos bastante tontos y otros con más mala idea. La película se ríe de la nostalgia, de la modernidad, de las redes, de los emprendedores, de la corrección social y también de esa tendencia a convertir cualquier cosa en identidad, ofensa o negocio.

Seth Rogen sostiene casi todo. No siempre parece estar en una comedia perfectamente afinada, pero tiene timing y sabe dar humanidad incluso a una premisa disparatada. Herschel podía haber sido solo una caricatura, y Ben solo otro millennial triste de manual, pero entre los dos aparece algo más interesante: una historia sobre familia, raíces, herencia y la dificultad de reconciliarse con lo que uno ha perdido.

El problema es que Encurtido en el tiempo no siempre sabe qué película quiere ser. A ratos parece una sátira bastante ácida; a ratos, una comedia sentimental sobre el duelo familiar; a ratos, una fábula absurda sobre identidad judía, capitalismo y choque cultural. Esa mezcla tiene gracia, pero también se queda un poco a medio camino. La película empieza con mucha fuerza y luego va perdiendo chispa.

Aun así, es entretenida. No pasará a la historia, pero tiene una rareza agradable y algunas ideas mejores de lo que parece a simple vista. Es una comedia pequeña, imperfecta, con ternura y mala leche, que se disfruta más si uno no le pide demasiada coherencia ni demasiada profundidad. Te ríes por chorradas, pero a veces esas chorradas tienen más intención de la que parece.

(ENGLISH) An American Pickle is a fairly silly comedy, but it also has something likable about it. It starts from an absurd idea —an immigrant is preserved for a hundred years in a pickle vat and wakes up in present-day Brooklyn— and handles it with a mixture of goofy humor, generational clash, family tenderness and a bit of sharpness. It is not a great film, but it is pleasant to watch.

The best thing is the contrast between Seth Rogen’s two characters. Herschel comes from another world: he is rough, old-fashioned, hardworking, stubborn, full of prejudices and driven by a very basic idea of family, honor and effort. Ben, his great-grandson, is the opposite: modern, insecure, technological, lonely and lost in a life that is much more comfortable, but also much emptier. The film works when it confronts those two ways of understanding the world.

Some jokes work precisely because they are so simple. The clash between a man from the early twentieth century and today’s sensitivities gives the film several funny moments, some very silly and others with more bite. The film laughs at nostalgia, modernity, social media, entrepreneurs, social correctness and also the tendency to turn anything into identity, offense or business.

Seth Rogen carries almost everything. He is not always inside a perfectly tuned comedy, but he has timing and knows how to give humanity even to a ridiculous premise. Herschel could have been only a caricature, and Ben just another standard sad millennial, but between them something more interesting appears: a story about family, roots, inheritance and the difficulty of reconciling yourself with what you have lost.

The problem is that An American Pickle does not always know what kind of film it wants to be. At times it seems like a fairly acidic satire; at others, a sentimental comedy about family grief; at others, an absurd fable about Jewish identity, capitalism and cultural clash. That mix has charm, but it also leaves the film a little halfway. It starts strongly and then gradually loses some of its spark.

Still, it is entertaining. It will not go down in history, but it has a pleasant strangeness and a few ideas that are better than they first appear. It is a small, imperfect comedy, with tenderness and bite, best enjoyed without asking too much coherence or depth from it. You laugh at silly things, but sometimes those silly things have more intention behind them than it seems.