A film review: An American Pickle (2020)
An American Pickle is a quirky and witty film starring Seth Rogan. Herschel Greenbaum is an Eastern European Jew who has been accidentally pickled in a large wooden tub for 100 years and then ‘wakes up’ in present day Brooklyn. I did say ‘quirky’.
In Brooklyn he’s introduced to his only surviving relative, his great-grandson Ben Greenbaum, also played by Seth Rogan, sans the big, bushy beard.
The film’s themes revolve around respect for, and honour to, family, along with faith and tradition, especially to one’s ancestors and to ones upbringing. In other words a discussion on the lack of such in our enlightened times. At times laugh out loud funny. At times queasily sentimental Hollywood drivel. At times infuriatingly twee, the story ranges across Trumpish Twitter anger and the nature of insult, along with notions of ’success’.
It’s a film that’s a tad deeper and more thought provoking than the, at times, clumsy dialogue may initially reveal.
Believe it or not, despite the above ringing notes of pessimism, I actually enjoyed it.
There isn’t much of an additional cast, considering that the two protagonists are both played by Seth, and that they probably covers 90% of the screen-time. Sarah, Herschel’s wife, whom he met in Eastern Europe before they emigrated to the US is played well enough by Sarah Snook. In fact the manner of their courtship, at the beginning of the story, is probably the funniest part of the film; a picturesque bog (if that’s not a contradiction in terms) and smoked fish playing the major go-betweens.
There are, however, some wonderfully played – not bit-parts, that would be doing the actors a disservice – but smaller roles in this film.
The two ‘camp’ bloggers, played hilariously by Kalen Allen and Eliot Glazer, for example, who use all the hype of the 21st century to set Herschel up as a masterful, traditional, all-natural-product cucumber pickle maker. No need to dig any deeper and discover that he’s making them from rainwater and thrown out vegetables – in unsterilised jars – it’s the ‘hits’ that count. Marvellous caricatures.
Also, the gullible intern, Clara, played brilliantly by Molly Evensen. After the pickle making business floundered, for reasons that would be a major plot spoiler, Herschel ‘hires’ interns to get the business back on it’s feet. There’s a wonderful scene where Herschel, having century old ideas about the roles of women and homosexuality, and whilst holding rigid religious opinions, gets Clara to post a Tweet that is a firestorm of homophobic rage waiting to happen. Her face, her hesitancy, the finger hovering over the keyboard, is so well done, you can almost feel the agony coming out of the screen.
For a bit of fun the film is worth a watch.
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