Movie Review: An American Pickle

A dramedy about a European immigrant who falls into a vat of pickles shortly after arriving in the United States and ends up being perfectly preserved for 100 years before waking up in 2019 Brooklyn and moving in with his great grandson feels like a premier entry from a stoned pitch brainstorm session. Since Seth Rogen has attained serious pull in the industry, this highdea actually got made. An American Pickle's daringly original premise leads to a finished product that is both endearingly unique and unbelievably scattershot.

Making something that traverses multiple genres simultaneously requires a deft touch to pull off.  Despite Rogen's strong commitment to his dual roles, An American Pickle lacks that. Cinematographer turned director Brandon Trost and writer Simon Rich (Man Seeking Woman, Miracle Workers) have assembled a film with such a lack of rhythm that it almost feels like a rushed student film. The pacing and tone shifts in just about every scene as the film attempts to piece together about 6 subplots surrounding these two family members from different generations attempts to bond and establish careers over its sub 90 minute runtime. 

There's musings on everything from what means it to be Jewish to the pressure younger generations feel to make family members from past generations proud of their accomplishments to the culture shock that comes when a person who's been away from the world for 100 years re-enters a society with much different societal norms than the one they unintentionally departed. It's like watching the start of a dozen different promising movies get thrown into the same anthology because the people who made wanted to get all of their ideas onto the screen, regardless of whether or not they were ready to be shot. While there are some genuinely funny and heartfelt moments that stem from this busy storytelling approach, the unwillingness to really lean into the absurdity or sentimentality that its premise teases, and underlying awkwardness in the way its packaged numbs a good deal of its potential impact.

An American Pickle garners the rare distinction of being an admirable mess. It may have serious artistic flaws that prevent it from resonating on a meaningful level as a comedy or drama, but its pure originality and strong effort from its star to sell this multigenerational family narrative was enough to make it compelling even at its most overstuffed and convoluted. Even when it isn't fully realized is, ambition is hell of an asset that can prop up a project and develop a level of respect for the filmmakers for trying to make a project that stood out as different. Creativity is a rare gift and while An American Pickle put up a mixed bag of a performance, there's enough potential on display here to believe that Rich and Trost have the raw gifts that could be refined into something exceptional somewhere down the line if they just take the time to fine tune their craft.    

Grade: B-