Seth Rogen doesnt smoke weed in An American Pickle.He doesnt trip on ecstasy. He doesnt even enjoy a drink, unless you count a particularly precious glass of seltzer water. Thats pretty unusual for a comedy produced by Rogen and his longtime partner Evan Goldberg. In fact, An American Picklewhich began streaming on HBO Max todayis their first non-R-rated movie since The Guilt Trip in 2012.

The film may surprise his longtime fans for that reason; but also, maybe not. Because theres been a change in the way people talk about Seth Rogen in the last few years. Have you noticed it? Its less lol, Seth Rogen, and more wow, Seth Rogen! It started about three years ago, around the time The Disaster Artista Rogen-Goldberg produced comedy starring James Franco as the real-life filmmaker of the famously bad The Roomwas getting Oscar buzz. It continued on through Long Shot, a romantic comedy that set out to make Rogen a worthy romantic interest for Charlize Theron, and, surprisingly, succeeded. (What can I say? He cleaned up in that tuxedo!) Now its taken the next logical step with An American Pickle, which may be the best showcase for Rogens acting skills yet.

Directed by Brandon Trosta cinematographer and frequent Rogen collaborator, making his solo directorial debutAn American Pickle is essentially 88 minutes of Rogen doing a two-man show with himself. Its based on a short story by Simon Rich (who also wrote the script), and comes with a wacky concept: A Polish-Jewish immigrant falls into a vat of pickle brine in Brooklyn in the year 1919, wakes up 100 years later, and meets his great-grandson. Both the immigrant, Herschel, and the great-grandson, Ben, are played by Rogen. Its a shtick often used in the silliest of comedies and sounds like a perfect set-up for some classic Rogen shenanigans.

But thats not what the film delivers. An American Pickle deliberately strives for something more serious. Herschel and Ben swap jokes about David Bowie, and Rogen has a lot of fun with his accent, but much of the film is spent exploring heritage, religion, and what it truly means to grieve for lost loved ones. Bens parents died in a car crash, you see. Right away, Herschel notices that his great-grandson doesnt have any pictures of his family hung in his home. (He does, however, have a David Bowie poster.) Ben insists hes grieved in his own way. Herschel insists they visit his parents graveand the grave of Herschels long-dead wife, played by Sarah Snookto grieve in the traditional way. Ben checks his phone while Herschel prays. Later, when Ben finally does pray in a synagogue in the old country, he breaks down crying.

All of these dramatic scenes fall on the shoulders of Rogen, and Rogen alone. The comedian filmed all of Herschels scenes first, shaved his beard, and then filmed all of Bens scenes with an earpiece of his previous performance in his ear. Its hardly the first time an actor has pulled that off, but its certainly a first for Rogen, whose movies used to come with a cohort of his Hollywood buddies. In the early years, he was a staple of Judd Apatows crew, having been discovered by the producer for the short-lived Freaks and Geeks TV show when Rogen was 16. Eventually, he and fellow Freaks and Geeks star James Franco formed their own crewalong with Goldberg and other familiar facescollaborating on successful stoner comedies like Pineapple Express (2008), This Is The End(2013), and the infamous controversial parody, The Interview (2014).

Recently, while its still Rogen and Goldberg as the dynamic duo behind the scenes, on camera Rogens been branching out on his own. Long Shot found him acting with a whole host of people he hadnt worked with before, including Theron, with whom, it turned out, he had great chemistry. In An American Pickle, he barely acts with anyone else at all, save for a few scenes with Snook. Without the constant presence of his pals, Rogens given himself more control over his own narrative as an actor.

These days, its harder to know what to expect from a Seth Rogen movie. Its not a total reinvention; its more like an upgrade. Youre still getting comedy, to be sure. Its hard to imagine Rogen doing a total 180 to drama, la Jonah Hill in Moneyball. But who knows? Long Shot felt like a turn for Rogen as an actor; An American Pickle feels like an even bigger one. That said, the American Pickle mid-credits scene does feature Rogen and Rogen lusting after Barbara Streisand in Yentl, so maybe some things never change.

Watch An American Pickle on HBO Max

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'An American Pickle' Is the Next Step In the Evolution of Seth Rogen - Decider