HBO Max’s An American Pickle is one part love letter to the classic American dream that drew millions upon millions of immigrants to this country in the early part of the last century and one part Seth Rogen comedy with twice the Rogens. It all adds up to a genuinely enjoyable fable about humble beginnings, vast culture shifts that all lead us to find exactly what connects us to our distant past. All this, while finding that family is a complicated entity.
Rogen plays two parts, the until recently living in 1919 Herschel Greenbaum and the very much 2020-centered Ben Greenbaum. It is seamless and an impeccable performance for the comedic actor who shows some serious dramatic talents as well in this heartwarming, yet sometimes adversarial, comedy.
After anti-Semitic persecution forces Herschel and his wife Sarah (Sarah Snook) to find a better life in America away from Eastern Europe, it’s hard, but they find they are closer to their dreams. He, drinking seltzer water, and she, being able to afford her own headstone. Herschel finds work in a pickle factory in Brooklyn. One fateful day, the rats he’s tasked with killing, turn on him. He lands in a vat of pickles and pickle brine. Just as they unknowingly close the lid, the factory is closed for health violations and is shuttered for 100 years.
Herschel awakes in 2020 to a Brooklyn that is just slightly different. With some help, he finds he has a great-grandson in the New York City borough. The two meet and one of the first things Herschel marvels at in Ben’s apartment is his countertop seltzer maker. This is high living, no?
Now, Ben is an aspiring app maker who has been stuck on a single idea for five years. Will Herschel light a spark under Ben or set a fire? Or maybe both! What about Herschel? What could a man who hasn’t seen the light of day for 100 years do with his life? He could make pickles—a storyline that sends this film down roads we never expected. It becomes quite the commentary on greed, social media, cancel culture, familial dynamics, the Jewish way of life and its emphasis on family, and all the guilt that that can carry.
An American Pickle is completely surprising and is not a narrative one could predict in the least—something that too often is an utter fail in comedies. The film has much to say about a myriad of subjects—from today’s media machine to hipsters and their proliferation across the land, to who America lauds, loves, chews up, and then spits out. It is also a great country that allows second chances more than any other. Everyone in this film warrants another opportunity and its imperfection-laden cast feels approachable, relatable, and most importantly, humorously heartwarming.
It’s fascinating to see Rogen work two characters. Yes, they are related, and yes, they are of the same age, but their personas could not be more vastly different. It had to be the most supreme of hills to climb for the Canadian born actor. He even learned Yiddish for the role of Herschel. Witnessing these two characters descend into an unpredictable narrative allows both to pursue their modern-day truths in a way that is utterly surprising, fresh and will leave you—perhaps, a little frustrated, but not in a bad way.
The film is a tight 90 minutes and says all it has to say in that time. It ends in an almost abrupt manner, in terms of its story narrative, but that’s OK. Let the audience decide where these characters go next. Too often comedies don’t know when to say when. An American Pickle manages its comedic and dramatic ebbs and flows brilliantly and delivers each at just the right moment.
Our issue with the film is a smaller one, it treads into some unlikable character arc trajectories that propel the film from an endearing endeavor to a more vindictive yarn. But it is a choice made by screenwriter Simon Rich, who wrote the short story it is based on, Sell Out. Even that cannot impede the Rogen cinematic charm. He demands your attention from moment one. There is much to enjoy about An American Pickle, I just wish it hadn’t gone down a certain path that felt to go against its humble beginnings. But as the narrative careens through centuries and relationship challenges, the actor’s latest comedy foible totally satisfies.
There is also another element of An American Pickle that had a profound effect on me. I suspect it will as well with others for this same reason. I grew up Jewish, attending Hebrew school, learning the language of my people, having a Bar Mitzvah, and being married by a Rabbi. In the last several decades, I have drifted away from the roots of my youth that stem from the same blood that traveled through the veins of my ancestors. In the film, Ben has followed my same path, religiously.
One particular moment pierced my soul. There is a gathering, a minyan, and he is needed to be the 10th individual to complete prayer for the dead. A light goes off in his eyes. Even though he insists he doesn’t know the words, a couple of decades of living Jewish lies deep in your soul. My reaction mirrored Ben’s, and about halfway through the Mourner’s Kaddish, the Hebrew words just flowed. It is one of the most moving and deeply personal moments of the entire film.
Now, off to find a (virtual!) temple…
Grade: B