‘An American Pickle’: What Did I Just Watch?
An American Pickle, starring Seth Rogan and Seth Rogan and directed by Brandon Trost, is out on HBO MAX and select cinemas.
We got a phone call from a friend more than a year ago. They told us they saw Seth Rogan’s new film at a test screening. They weren’t allowed to say much, all we got was that it’s ‘very very weird’. Naturally, that got us excited.
An American Pickle is very very weird. But, honestly, it somehow doesn’t come off as strange as one would think.
The basic plot of this production is that an immigrant worker from the 1920s gets preserved in pickle juice for 100 years to wake up in modern-day Brooklyn. There, he reconnects with his great-grandson. Both roles are played by Seth Rogan. The film gets progressively more weird and experimental as it goes on.
But weirdly, this works.
Yes, it’s extremely strange, but it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like a tonally conscious film that knows it’s entertainment value and is aiming for nothing above what it sets. Maybe we’re just desensitised from watching obscure indie flicks all day, but An American Pickle really doesn’t hit as aggressively as we thought it would.
Seth Rogan is really great in this. Probably the best he’s ever been, actually. Why? Rogan actually plays a character here rather than playing himself.
But let’s dive further in.
The basic core plot of An American Pickle is interesting and exciting, yes. But what truly makes this film different is the story depth it provides the viewer.
At the core of An American Pickle is dealing with your past and moving forward. Exactly this was most surprising about this project. It’s got a lot of heart and actually has themes it managed to explore and develop. There is character development, there is growth, and there is a clear journey. All this was very surprising for a film about a pickled immigrant worker.
We’re not about to go and praise An American Pickle around. The film has problems. It’s too bland at times, paced all over the place, and the general aesthetic of the story is not as clear as it should be. But for a film that is meant to entertain while imagining a solid amount of depth through its story, these flaws actually don’t really matter that much.
It’s normal to stop the film, shut the TV, and ask yourselves ‘what did I just watch’ after first diving deep into An American Pickle.
The film is weird and unlike anything we’ve seen before, not because of any filmmaking behind it, but because of the story.
And we think it’s a beautiful thing that in 2020 there is a market for features like this one. There is a demand for stories like this and that is just wonderful. From a creator perspective, this allows freedom for passion projects and experimenting in one’s art. And when we leave creators to do what they are truly passionate about, that’s when we’ll get films with exceeding amounts of quality and art behind them.
An American Pickle is not perfect, but it is better than we expected. We would actually recommend it for a Friday night in. The fact that we are recommending a film about a pickled Seth Rogan (starring Seth Rogan & Seth Rogan) makes us hopeful for the direction that cinema is headed in.
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— Pouty Boy
I wish this movie could have just picked a direction and ran with it, because it could have been great. It started off so strong and then dwindled as it went on. Seth Rogan is brilliant here though!
We definitely agree.