An American Pickle (2020)

Director: Brandon Trost

Stars: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Molly Evensen
Runtime: 88 minutes

Synopsis: An immigrant worker at a pickle factory is accidentally preserved for 100 years and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn.

Performances: 5/10
Screenplay: 2/10
Editing: 4/10
Cinematography: 6/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10
Entertainment Factor: 2/10

Verdict: Hershel Greenbaum was a worker in a pickle factory in 1919 when he accidentally fell in a tub of cucumbers and was left there for 100 years. He is found, intact and alive, in 2019 where he has to adapt to a future that is foreign to him, helped by his great-grandson and only living relative of his. Pretty original concept, right? I mean, that idea hasn't been done to death on TV and movies in the past. If you can't tell due to the text format of that sentence, I'm being sarcastic, and "An American Pickle" is possibly one of the most forgettable and generic films to come out this year, which is saying quite a lot.

Other than the movie's horrible structure and generic jokes, I found it to be terribly irregular when it came to abiding by the universe's rules. It was a distraction that served as proof as to how lazy and reliant on easy ways out the script was. The themes (yes, it has some of those) of family values, the American dream, and even religion were all tackled in a borderline irresponsible way with next to no proper development to them. It was very clear that it was more concerned about being a comedy than anything else, and even in that field, it doesn't exactly succeed. Those expecting a typical Seth Rogen stoner comedy will be disappointed and so will those looking for a smart comedy with a point. It's comparable to films like "Holmes & Watson" or "Zoolander 2" in terms of the cleverness of its jokes, in a sense that they're repetitive, predictable, and overdone.

"An American Pickle" may be enjoyed as light background noise but nothing more. Nothing about stuck with me, not even Rogen's dual performance which was also sadly disappointing. I definitely won't be remembering this movie in a day or two.

FINAL GRADE: 3/10