‘An American Pickle’
Yes, Seth Rogen is playing himself and his great grandfather in An American Pickle, an HBO Max movie about a Jewish immigrant who falls into a vat of pickle brine in Brooklyn in 1919 and wakes up 100 years later. But as silly as that concept sounds, An American Pickle—directed by Brandon Trost and written by Simon Rich—is surprisingly earnest in a way films from Rogen and his long-time producing partner Evan Goldberg rarely are. Themes dealt with include death, grief, religion, prayer, and heritage. That said, it’s still a comedy with laugh-out-loud-worthy jokes—like the one where the “science” of preserving a man in pickle brine is explained by Rogen, in voiceover narration, firmly stating, “And then the scientist explained everything, and it made perfect sense.” An American Pickle is a new, mature side of Seth Rogen—still funny, of course. Just fewer dick jokes.