Knocked Up on the Pineapple Express: The Five Best Judd Apatow Bits

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IS JUDD APATOW the King Midas of Hollywood comedy?

Everything the man touches seems to turn into gold, from his partnership with Will Ferrell in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and "Talladega Nights" to his friendship with former "Freaks and Geeks" stars James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, who would later explode into the public pop culture consciousness with "Knocked Up," "Superbad" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" — all of which were produced by Apatow, of course.

And if "Pineapple Express" is any indication, Apatow and Co. just keep getting better. The stoner hit of the summer — which would also propel M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" into success, thanks to the film's commercials — comes out Jan. 7 on DVD, and it's so good that we'll forgive Apatow for "Step Brothers" (quite possibly one of the worst films of 2008) and "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" (also pretty crappy).

Instead of Ferrell or Sandler, "Pineapple Express" starred Rogen and Franco as a modern-day Cheech and Chong, reinvigorating the buddy-comedy genre and adding a plethora of scenes to the best-of-Apatow list. In fact, we'll break down five of the finest moments in Apatow-helmed films — and we'll try not to dote too much on Paul Rudd while we're at it.

NEWS ANCHOR FACE-OFF, "WEST SIDE STORY"-STYLE
Ferrell used to be one of the funniest cast members on "Saturday Night Live" (see: the "lovahs" skits or his impersonation of Sean Connery), but he proved he can carry more than just a 10-minute segment with "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." As the misogynistic, narcissistic, racist and conceited Burgundy, Ferrell was fantastic, a blubberingly obnoxious dude who was unnervingly devoted to his dog, Baxter.

But the film wouldn't have been half as good without supporting cast members Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carell as Brian Fantana, Champ Kind and Brick Tamland, respectively. As the Lothario, the chauvinist and the ... well, not-so-bright guy, Rudd, Koechner and Carell helped round out the Channel Four News Team and provided the best scene in the film: The news anchor face-off, during which the Channel Four News Team, complete with grenades and other weapons, battles various rival news teams. Arms get caught off, people get lit on fire and one guy gets speared by a trident, but please, don't touch the news team's hair (they get very Uncle Jesse-like about maintaining it).

DRACULA: THE MUSICAL
Pretty much all of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is hilarious, from Segel's depressed, desperately-trying-to-find-love portrayal of the recently dumped composer Peter Bretter to Jonah Hill as the awkward waiter Matthew, who was uncomfortably obsessed with British musician Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), who was actually dating Bretter's ex, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), to Brand himself, who was as scene-stealing as they come.

But it's "A Taste for Love," the Dracula-centered musical starring puppets that Bretter has worked on for years, that quite possibly even one-ups Brand. From the image of Segel and "SNL" cast member Bill Hader running around in black unitards while voicing puppets of Dracula, Van Helsing and others to the lyrics of "Dracula's Lament" ("Die! Die! Die! / ... I can't"), its absurd humor at its best.

SEXY TIMES
So an overweight pothead and a career-minded entertainment reporter somehow hook up, she gets pregnant and both their lives get turned upside down as they prepare for the baby's arrival. It may not sound that funny at first glance, but add Rogen as a the sympathetic goof, a solid supporting crew of constantly high friends (including Franco and Segel) and the fantastically bitchy Kristen Wiig of "SNL" as E! Entertainment Television high-up Jill, and the laughs couldn't stop with "Knocked Up," which ended up on many critics' best of 2007 lists, even amid the claims of sexism. There's far too much offensive stuff in the film to print (such as every four-letter-word known to man), but just imagine this: Pregnant sex.

Try not to vomit through your laughs, please.

HIGH-SPEED CHASE (PUN INTENDED)
OK, "Pineapple Express's" Dale (Rogen) and Saul (Franco) aren't high when they steal a police cruiser and lead corrupt police officer and murderer Carol Brazier (Rosie Perez) on a chase through town. But it's a perfect move for a film that name-drops numerous different kinds of weed, is blatantly anti-cop (see: a certain N.W.A. lyric Saul likes to repeat every so often) and, at its core, is all about the power of friendship. BFFF, man!

THIS IS THE DAWNING OF THE AGE OF AQUARIUS
Is there anything else to say?

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi