Seth Rogen is one of those comedic actors who you either like or you don’t. Granted, that could describe any number of comedic actors, but I’ve notice that people either find Rogen funny or not. His deep voice, scruffy appearance, and self-depreciating style can make for some fun movies, but they don’t work on everybody.
As such, the new HBO Max original An American Pickle might be a bit of a challenge for folks who fall in the anti-Rogen category since the movie features Rogen in a duel role as two very different men.
In 1919, Herschel Greenbaum (Rogen) immigrated to America with his wife Sarah (Sarah Snook) to both escape the Cossacks and find a better life for themselves. The pair dream of becoming rich enough to one day own a headstone with their names on it and drink seltzer water. Not long after Sarah becomes pregnant, Herschel takes a tumble in the pickle factory he works in into a pickle barrel, ends up sealed inside, and due to some shenanigans is locked away in a condemned building for 100 years. A chance accident opens the barrel and Herschel emerges, alive and physically the same as when he went in. His only living family is his great-grandson Ben (Rogen again), and though Ben’s every day life trying to build an app suggest a level of wealth Herschel has never seen before, that’s just everyday life in Brooklyn now.
However, Herschel insists on visiting his wife’s grave, and seeing the cemetery in bad shape and a Vodka billboard going up over it, Herschel attacks the workers, believing them to be Cossacks, and he and Ben are arrested, a major set-back for Ben’s work, and after an argument, Herschel moves out to start his own pickle empire. From there, the two go to war as Herschel’s pickles prove popular in trendy New York but Ben’s knowledge of the present seems intent to bring his forebear down. Can these two stop trying to ruin each other long enough to become the family they both need?
An American Pickle was somewhat clever in its execution, but at the same time, it felt a bit rote. Herschel’s inclination to lead with his fists make for an amusing character, and the best moments may come from when Ben provokes Herschel to say some of his, shall we say, very old fashioned views in public. That said, I didn’t think this movie brought much new to the table. I do tend to like Rogen, but that doesn’t mean he gets a blank slate. Herschel has a roguish charm, and Ben has the pathos of the pair as more or less the straight man in a one man comedy duo. Considering everything and everyone he knew is long gone, Herschel adapts to the 21st century rather quickly. Yes, he misses his wife, but he spends more time building his pickle empire than anything else.
All things being equal, it was a rather average comedy. There were some decent laughs, but few of what I would call a deep belly laugh. I was amused, but that was about it. Rogen is fine, but even he can only do so much with this level of material. Oh well. At least it’s better than The Green Hornet.
Grade: C+
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