In the spirit of Pineapple Express, Tim Blake Nelson's Leaves of Grass mixes stoner comedy with action and violence. Set in Oklahoma, Bill is tricked into visiting his estranged pot-growing twin brother, Brady (both played by Edward Norton). Brady owes big money to a dealer named Pug Rothbaum (Richard Dreyfuss), who staked him to his grow-op.

Brady certainly knows the difference between HPS and metal-halide lighting, which he brags about in an extended monologue. We see lots of (fake) plants and a novel spiral hydroponic system inside the large growroom. "You're looking at the motherfucking state of the art," he tells his painfully straight brother, who's a philosophy professor. "You want some?"

Plants look familiar? These are same ones that were used in Pineapple Express

Brady smokes a bong on the porch while Bill tries to plot his escape. No such luck. First he needs to visit their sickly mother, Daisy (Susan Sarandon). The main storyline is Brady scheming how not to pay back Rothbaum. But it's ultimately Josh (Ken Feinman), who Bill  meets on the plane, that they have to worry about.

Nelson, who also plays Brady's bud Bolger, has a good feel for the subject - read about how he researched Leaves of Grass here - but the movie slides off the rails about halfway through and never gets back to the original comic premise of identical brothers who have nothing in common.

Leaves of Grass opened on Sept. 17 in limited release. The DVD will be released on Oct. 12.

Listen to the movie's signature song, "Boys from Oklahoma," here.

Also see:
Leaves of Grass Trailer
Tim Blake Nelson Interview
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