An American Pickle
Directed by Brandon TrostA simple Jewish man named Herschel Greenbaum works in a pickle factory in Brooklyn. One day he falls into a vat of brine and stays there, perfectly preserved, for 100 years. He comes back to life and goes to stay with his great-great-grandson, Ben, in contemporary Brooklyn.
An American Pickle Ratings & Reviews
- Walter Jospeh KovacsJuly 28, 2025I kept seeing a clip on youtube where the protagonist sells pickles in the city and I found it mildly amusing. A lot of the comments said the clip was the best part of the movie and the rest was meh. I gave it a try and didn't laugh once. It may be a Jewish humour thing, maybe, but I just found it a mildly amusing drama.
- CallumDecember 22, 2025⭐⭐ – An American Pickle – One joke, stretched thin An American Pickle is essentially Rip Van Winkle relocated to modern America, with Seth Rogen playing both sides of the generational divide. The setup is clever enough: an old-world immigrant preserved by accident wakes up a century later and collides head-on with contemporary culture. For about twenty minutes, that premise carries some charm. Unfortunately, the film never really knows what to do beyond that initial idea. The humour leans heavily on culture-shock gags and generational misunderstandings, and once those are exhausted, there’s very little left to explore. Rogen is fine — he usually is — but even playing against himself doesn’t give the story enough momentum to sustain a full feature. There are moments where the film hints at something deeper: immigration, legacy, family responsibility, and the cost of assimilation. But those ideas are touched on lightly and then moved past in favour of safer comedy beats. What could have been a sharper satire or a warmer character study ends up feeling oddly flat. It’s not terrible, just forgettable. Mildly amusing in places, but unlikely to linger once the credits roll — a curiosity rather than a must-watch. 🥤 Drink Pairing A basic lager — cold, inoffensive, and quickly forgotten once it’s finished.
- Manuel FrangisMarch 25, 2025I just watched An American Pickle and I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. This one was definitely different, but in a good way. It is a strange mix of heartfelt, weird, and kind of sad, but it also manages to be funny and creative. It is not the kind of comedy you expect from Seth Rogen, but that is part of what makes it interesting. Seth Rogen plays two roles in this movie. He is Herschel Greenbaum, a Jewish immigrant from the early 1900s who falls into a pickle vat and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn one hundred years later. And he is also Ben Greenbaum, Herschel’s great grandson who is living a very different kind of life in the present. Rogen does a solid job playing both characters. He gives Herschel a strong personality with a heavy accent and old world views, and then he switches it up to play the more modern and quiet Ben. You can tell he put in work to make the characters feel different while still showing a connection between them. The setup is ridiculous, but the movie leans into it. It knows the plot is kind of silly and does not spend too much time trying to explain the science behind it. It is more about what happens after Herschel wakes up and how two very different people from the same family clash and try to understand each other. There are a lot of fish out of water moments and cultural jokes that are actually pretty funny. The humor is more subtle than over the top. It is not laugh out loud every second, but there are some good lines and awkward scenes that hit just right. Herschel is confused by modern life, and Ben is frustrated by Herschel’s old school ways. Watching them try to live together leads to some wild situations. The comedy comes more from personality and perspective than from big jokes. There is also a lot of heart in the movie. It is really about family, tradition, and how people from different generations can still connect if they try. The movie talks about grief, forgiveness, and purpose, which gives it more weight than your typical comedy. It does not always land perfectly, but the intention is there, and some of those moments really work. The reason I give it 3.5 out of 5 instead of a higher score is because the tone feels uneven at times. Some parts are funny and light, while others suddenly shift to serious and emotional. It is not a bad thing, but it does make the pacing feel a little off. Also, the second half of the movie feels a little rushed, like it wanted to wrap things up too quickly. Visually, the movie looks nice. The flashback scenes are shot with a vintage feel, and the modern scenes are clean and simple. The score and music choices fit the mood, and the overall production is solid. It is not flashy, but it works for the story it is telling. Overall An American Pickle is a strange but charming movie with a creative idea and a double performance from Seth Rogen that works better than expected. It is not perfect, but it has enough heart and originality to make it worth watching at least once. I did not love every part of it, but I liked it, and I am glad I gave it a shot.
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An American Pickle Trivia
An American Pickle was released on August 6, 2020.
An American Pickle was directed by Brandon Trost.
An American Pickle has a runtime of 88m.
An American Pickle was produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver.
A simple Jewish man named Herschel Greenbaum works in a pickle factory in Brooklyn. One day he falls into a vat of brine and stays there, perfectly preserved, for 100 years. He comes back to life and goes to stay with his great-great-grandson, Ben, in contemporary Brooklyn.
The key characters in An American Pickle are Herschel Greenbaum / Ben Greenbaum (Seth Rogen), Sarah Greenbaum (Sarah Snook), Clara (Molly Evensen).
An American Pickle is rated PG-13.
An American Pickle is a Comedy, Drama, Fantasy film.
An American Pickle has an audience rating of 4.3 out of 10.
An American Pickle has made $500K at the box office.