Seth Rogen helped redefine the comedy genre in the late 2000’s with a string of hits following the runaway success of his semi-biographical masterpiece, Superbad. These days however, he has focused the majority of his talents on writing and producing prestige television. Viewers needn’t look any further than Amazon Prime’s The Boys, for evidence of his multifaceted skill set. Now, with Warner Bros stepping into the ring of the ongoing streaming wars, Rogen has been enlisted for this bonkers tale of family, loneliness, love, cultural appropriation, and pickles. Yes, it’s as strange as it sounds.
An American Pickle, based on the 2013 New Yorker story ‘Sell Out’, tells the story of Herschel Greenbaum. The Ashkenazi ditch digger with huge ambitions of prosperity, success, and being able to buy his own grave, migrates to America with his wife to start a new chapter for their family. After starting work as, what is essentially a hilariously barbaric rat exterminator, Herschel falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years. After waking up in the present day like an off-brand Captain America, he is soon introduced to his great grandson Ben Greenbaum, who also happens to be played by Seth Rogen. The film admittedly runs the risk of alienating audience members from the get-go with its wacky premise and lack of supporting star power, but, for those well accustomed to Rogen’s particular brand of comedy, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here.
Questions of how salt water can fully preserve a man for 100 years, and why two men separated by that time look completely identical, are both addressed, and ingeniously weaponised through meta-humour. But, despite the clear comedic scope of a film with such a brilliantly preposterous narrative, it never loses sight of the fine line to be toed between humour and heart. Make no mistake, there is a surprising amount of emotional resonance built into this script. Of course, this can also be largely attributed to Rogen’s impressive dual performance as both Herschel and Ben. Although his jarring, yet inherently funny, Eastern European accent does take some adjustment. At times, it’s also difficult to grasp which of these two characters we’re supposed to be rooting for, with the focal perspective and sympathetic lens jumping between them on more than a few occasions.
The film also uses the hackneyed and well-trodden ground of poking fun at technology and social media to excellent creative effect. The fast-paced world of instant gratification we live in, as well as the ‘cancel culture’ that has arisen in recent years, has always been ripe and fertile ground for the right comedic minds. A man with morals, societal values and social acceptance outdated by 100 years provides just that opportunity. Thankfully, these very real and serious issues in our society are handled without inappropriate glorification, but with heaps of hysterical relevance and familiarity.
An American Pickle occasionally struggles with its pacing, and can sometimes feel as if its spinning its wheels, but, at its core this is an easily watchable comedy with some genuinely brilliant moments of creative flair and heart-warming melodrama. Rogen shines in a wonderful performance that elevates the entire film to new levels of hilarity that hopefully wont be as outdated as Herschel after being digitally brined for the next 100 years.
An American Pickle is released in UK cinemas on Friday 7th August and on HBO Max where available.
