Review | ‘An American Pickle’ ignites life into absurdist comedies

“An American Pickle,” released on HBO this month, examines 2020 culture while pushing the boundaries of reality. SAM ANDRUS Photo Editor

In a pandemic-dominated life full of uncertainties, masks and social distancing orders, it was delightful to sit down in my living room with my family, grab my microwave-fresh popcorn and M&M’s and stumble upon a film about a man who simply turns into a pickle. Allow me to explain. 

In “An American Pickle,” Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen), an Orthodox Jewish man, immigrates to New York City for a better life. After securing a steady factory job where his main task is playing whack-a-mole to rat infestations, he falls into a vat of pickle juice and is brined for 100 years, later waking up in modern-day society. I only wish I could have seen it in theatres. 

At its core, the film is absurdist and hilarious. The concept itself is wildly unique. It’s impossible for someone to survive becoming a pickle for 100 years … right?

However, “An American Pickle” also touches on so many important points: how spirituality, religion, family values and immigration have changed over time. Most prominently, it picks apart millennial zeitgeist in 2020 and examines why we’re so obsessed with cancel-culture and jumping on bandwagons of popular trends. The show offered an interesting look at how a person would react to being thrown into our society after having lived a completely different life. Herschel sees life more simply than our generation: if you find a good steady job and work hard, you will prosper and make your family proud. But, so many people in this day and age don’t believe in the American Dream that Herschel so tirelessly fights for. 

Herschel learns how things have changed from his millennial great-grandson Ben Greenbaum, his only living relative – also played by Rogen – who lives alone and is no longer religious despite having a jumanji-themed bar mitzvah. Ben has been working on an app idea for the past five years and Herschel can’t seem to see why he won’t sell it and become a success. He later learns that Ben neglected to sell the app because he strived for perfection to honor his deceased parents. Herschel discovers that the values and beliefs of a younger generation are still intact; they might just have a different path to getting there. They learn and grow from each other, giving this film a powerful message on empathy that is incredibly heart-warming. 

Rogen carries this film on his back, playing the two lead roles, which are two very different characters. Yet, the chemistry between Rogen and himself was so good, I truly felt like I was watching two different actors. If only there were two Rogens in the world.

I haven't seen a film with such a unique premise in a long time. It gave me a sense of hope: hope for the future of the film industry because it shows that we still have plenty of zany and interesting stories to tell, and hope for our own future. Even though we may have very different views than someone else, maybe we don’t have to cancel them or sabotage their life like Ben tried to do to Herschel. Maybe we can grow and learn from one another.