Dual-roles are great. For me it’ll always be Peter Sellers in Dr Strangelove with his triple roles, equal parts mad scientist, timid RAF captain, and bumbling American president. Looking to continue the comedic tradition, Seth Rogen stars in An American Pickle, the upcoming film premiering on HBO Max; the first original feature to be released on the service.
Rogen stars as Herschel Greenbaum, an enterprising Jewish immigrant who comes to America during the 1920’s seeking a better life. Finding work at a pickle factory, where life is good… Until a freak pickling accident finds Herschel plummeting into a vat of brining fluid. Abandoned and forgotten, the pickling spices preserve Herschel, who awakens a hundred years later in modern Brooklyn. There he meets his great-grandson Ben (also Rogen), and struggles to adjust to a world that’s gone full-sour.
Simon Rich adapts his New Yorker magazine short story Sell Out, with direction from Brandon Trost. An American Pickle is set to be HBO Max’s first original film since the streaming service launched in May, and will premiere there exclusively on August 6th.
