An American Pickle (2020)

Streaming Services: HBO Max

Movie Name/Year: An American Pickle (2020)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 88 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Production/Distribution: Point Grey Pictures, Gravitational Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Max, HBO España, HBO Max

Director: Brandon Trost

Writer: Simon Rich

Actors: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Molly Evensen, Eliot Glazer, Kalen Allen, Kevin O’Rourke, Sean Whalen, Geoffrey Cantor, Carol Leifer, Jorma Taccone, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Alyse Zwick, Dalon Huntington, J Michael Grey, Liz Cackowski, Ian Poake

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

Selina’s Point of View:

This film surprised the hell out of me. It’s not at all what I thought it would be.

I’d call that a good thing, this time. That means that An American Pickle didn’t succumb to the pitfalls I worried about. As I mentioned in my Top 20, using the same actor for two characters, especially in silly comedy flicks, has a tendency to go spectacularly wrong.

Seth Rogen (Long Shot, The Disaster Artist, The Interview) makes it work here, though. I saw the difference in the mannerisms very clearly. Even in scenes where they’re supposed to look the most alike, Rogen carried himself in ways that helped define the two characters.

I’m not saying that it was Orphan Black (2013-2017) good. After all, that’s a serious show and An American Pickle very much is not.

There’s nothing serious about this film. The ‘science’ is yadda-yadda’d. We never even get to hear the explanation, which is fine. We’re seeing things through Herschel’s eyes at the time, and he’s a bit overwhelmed from being pickled for 100 years.

I mean, I don’t think anyone would watch this movie for science reasons anyway, but still.

The humor was outstanding. I loved the way An American Pickle compared the lives of people from a century ago to our time through the eyes of a Jewish immigrant time-transplant and his great-grandson. You get to see the way things have changed. This flick takes a look at religion, cancel culture, and family in ways that other films can’t really explore when they take a more serious tone.

Lightening serious subjects with humor is a good way to objectively examine them.

I do not understand the reviews for this film. From what I’m seeing, it’s incredibly underrated. I almost always agree with the audience over the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but I can’t this time.

Whatever the reason audiences have to dislike this film, I think they’re wrong. I had a beautiful time watching An American Pickle. I started laughing at the beginning and only stopped once, near the end, because I got hit with some feels.

This is a great film. It’s hilarious. If I had paid money to see this on the big screen, I’d have been more than satisfied. Honestly? I think it’s worth getting HBO Max for.

  

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 74%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 47%

Metascore – 58/100

Metacritic User Score – 4.1/10

IMDB Score – 5.8/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5

P.S.: There’s a short scene after the start of the credits.

Movie Trailer: