DVD Review: An American Pickle

An American Pickle
(DVD American)

An American Pickle is an odd little film was made for the cable channel “MAX” (formerly HBO Max) but was also released to DVD in 2020. Comic actor Seth Rogan, who has certainly been in his fair share of quirky comedies during his career, appears in two roles. He plays Hershel Greenbaum, an immigrant worker from the early 1900s, and his descendant Ben Greenbaum, an app developer, in the modern era. The quirk here is that Hershel and Ben get to interact with each other. Hershel, working in a pickle factory, falls into a vat of brine and is accidentally entombed therein, only to be taken out 100 years later perfectly preserved but missing his old life and uncertain how to fit into modern times, even with the help of his nebbishy distant relative.

 

When a small conflict drives a wedge between the two Greenbaums, Hershel strikes out on his own, establishing his own pickle-making enterprise (though ignoring dozens of health code violations along the way), and Ben ends up trying to sabotage Hershel’s efforts by manipulating social media. The conflict between the two Greenbaum men grows to ridiculously comic proportions. But the charm of this bizarre little film is seeing how they can eventually mend fences and find some common ground.

 

The technical tricks used to have both characters appear in the same scenes, interacting with each other, are marvelous. And Seth Rogan, who I’ve never been much of a fan of in his previous films, gives an excellent performance in each of these overblown roles. For what is essentially a “fish out of water” comedy poking fun at contemporary social mores, this movie had some surprisingly emotional scenes and unexpected depth.

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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