The society we live in today always seems more interested in pulling people down a peg than they are pulling themselves up. Why bother making your life better when you can make someone else's worse because of some outdated social structure? Have we lost sight of the past, and made ourselves into something worse? Maybe there is a median that can be reached between what is considered an old way of thinking and the new way of life? These ideas, among others, were the main thinking points I took away from An American Pickle. A movie I think is a bit underrated.
Yes, I know it just came out, but still, it can be underrated.
The movie follows the story of Herschel Greenbaum, played by Seth Rogan, in a rare role where he doesn't smoke even a bit of pot, and his life in the old country. We see him live in post-WW1 Europe, meet his wife, struggle to live even the most basic of lives, and then move to America. It is here where he gets a job as a rat smasher at a pickle cannery, which leads to him being brined in a pickle vat. The brine of the pickles allows him to live 100 years into the future when he is found and woken up. Here he connects with his great-grandson, Ben, also played by Rogan, and they almost instantly clash over life, family, and religion. They go on a crusade against each other, as Herschel cannot let go of his prejudices from the past, and his great-grandson Ben can't stand to see him succeed where Ben himself has failed. Both suffer from the loss of family and struggle in the era they live.
I liked the pre-pickling parts of this film the most due to the reminder of how easy it is in ways nowadays. Now, be nice and don't take offense. Yes, people have it hard in today's world. I am not saying they don't, but pointing out the hardships of having to dig a ditch by hand as a job, over making an app that tells you how green a company is, really is a big step. Herschel's love of seltzer water and obsessing with what he saw as rich was quite nice, considering what has become of the actual rich. If you've ever worked manual labor for crap wages that you know how easy it is to get lost in the goals you may never achieve. It may be an overused idea, but showing people's obsession with luxury items, against the backdrop of the early 1900's works here.
An American Pickle also tackles religion somewhat. I have no problem with the idea of making a place for spiritual faith in today's culture. Nothing too biblical, but just thinking that it can't hurt to believe in something greater than oneself. Of course, I say that without having attended anything remotely religious in decades. So, take that with a grain of salt. The more faith-oriented parts in An American Pickle help the movie deal with the ideas of family and losing them, plus the finality of death. I can understand people not being all that interested in the not so subtle attempts at the mushy family stuff. I still like how the movie points out that the family unit has taken a back seat nowadays.
That is not to say that An American Pickle is an amazing film. It's flawed and messy at times. But between a great performance from Seth Rogan in both roles and some not so subtle social commentary, the movie makes a fun and sometimes heartwarming watch.