An American Pickle
Go! Salty meets sour in a jovial jar of Jewishness.
Imaginative American Immigration Yarn.
Italians in The Godfather II, Irish in Brooklyn, Puerto Ricans in West Side Story, Hungarians in An American Rhapsody, Indians in The Namesake, Pakistanis in The Big Sick, Laotians in Gran Torino, elves in Elf and even Zamundans in Coming to America. The tale of American immigration is as well-worn as the path on Ellis Island that welcomed them. They typically tend towards (or create) stereotypes of certain nationalities and their supposed foibles (it’s notable how many are about gangs or violence), but when done with affection, there is much truth to be revealed about the American project and how different cultures wrestle with it.
Based on Sell Out, a New Yorker short story by SNL alum, Simon Rich, An American Pickle leans into stereotypes of early 20th century, Old Country Jews; in part to pass comment on stereotypical, 21st century millennials.
Based on Sell Out, a New Yorker short story by SNL alum, Simon Rich, An American Pickle leans into stereotypes of early 20th century, Old Country Jews; in part to pass comment on stereotypical, 21st century millennials.
Seth Rogan (This is The End, Long Shot) plays characters from both generations. Rogan 1 is Herschel Greenbaum – a humble, bearded, Jewish man who emigrated from Eastern Europe to New York in the 1910s, fell into a vat of brine and was preserved for a century only to wake up in 2020, still in his mid-30s. What a pickle! Rogan 2 is Ben Greenbaum – Herschel’s extremely similar-looking, but clean shaven, slightly-less-Jewish great-grandson; an insecure app designer in Brooklyn, who happens to be the same age as his great-grandfather. The premise is undeniably outlandish but primed for humour and a face-to-face confrontation between past and present.
At its heart, it’s a buddy comedy – two ill-suited characters thrust together and forced to work out their differences (with hilarious results), but the atypical twist is pleasing. Imagine hanging out with your great-grandfather, who is the same age as you but carries a hundred-year old worldview. It would be fun, at least to begin with. And so it proves - revealing societal changes to Herschel creates many sweet moments, including a fascinated reaction to Soda Stream, and amazement at just how many socks Ben owns. However, things quickly descend into resentment between the pair as their differences feed conflict after conflict. Issues of respect, courage, religion, and resilience all naturally arise, given the elder’s history of endeavour and sacrifice, and the younger’s coddled life as an American.
At its heart, it’s a buddy comedy – two ill-suited characters thrust together and forced to work out their differences (with hilarious results), but the atypical twist is pleasing. Imagine hanging out with your great-grandfather, who is the same age as you but carries a hundred-year old worldview. It would be fun, at least to begin with. And so it proves - revealing societal changes to Herschel creates many sweet moments, including a fascinated reaction to Soda Stream, and amazement at just how many socks Ben owns. However, things quickly descend into resentment between the pair as their differences feed conflict after conflict. Issues of respect, courage, religion, and resilience all naturally arise, given the elder’s history of endeavour and sacrifice, and the younger’s coddled life as an American.
Unfortunately, this conflict comes to dominate the movie. While Herschel remains mostly likeable and entertaining (and touchingly performed by Rogan) as he works his way to bigger and better things, Ben is revealed to be a strangely despicable character. It is here the film loses its sheen, with Ben constantly dragging Herschel down along with the initially satisfying story arc. The redemption pay-off takes too long to arrive, but across its neat 85-minute runtime, it's kept afloat by light critiques of modern American society. Political correctness, unpaid internships, arduous bureaucracy, social media, tolerance for others and the entire value system are all gently made fun of.
So go! In the end, An American Pickle is intended to be a light film, more akin to Elf than Gran Torino. Although the storyline is a distraction from its strengths, it still works as a vehicle for ample laughs and innocuous contemporary insights.
An American Pickle was released on 6 August in UK cinemas and to stream on HBO Max (US) and HBO Go (Europe). It will (hopefully) be released in Australian cinemas on 24 September.
So go! In the end, An American Pickle is intended to be a light film, more akin to Elf than Gran Torino. Although the storyline is a distraction from its strengths, it still works as a vehicle for ample laughs and innocuous contemporary insights.
An American Pickle was released on 6 August in UK cinemas and to stream on HBO Max (US) and HBO Go (Europe). It will (hopefully) be released in Australian cinemas on 24 September.
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