An American Pickle

An American Pickle is a 2020 American comedy-drama film directed by Brandon Trost (in his solo directorial debut) and written by Simon Rich, based on his 2013 short story "Sell Out". The film stars Seth Rogen as an Eastern European Jewish immigrant who gets preserved in a vat of pickles and wakes up a century later in modern-day New York City, attempting to fit in with the assistance of his last remaining descendant (also played by Rogen). Originally intended to be released by Sony Pictures, the film's rights were sold to Warner Bros. in April 2020. It was digitally released in the United States on August 6, 2020, the first original film released by HBO Max, and theatrically in the United Kingdom the following day. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Rogen's dual performance being praised. It later received release on video on demand for rental and purchase. Plot Herschel Greenbaum and wife, Sarah, are struggling Jewish laborers from Eastern Europe. They emigrate from their shtetl to America in 1919, after their village is rampaged by Russian Cossacks. He finds a job at a pickle factory and saves up for two graves at a Jewish cemetery. One day, while working, he falls into a vat of pickles just as the factory is closed for health reasons, leaving Herschel brined for 100 years. Waking up in Brooklyn in 2019, Herschel discovers that his only living relative is his great-grandson Ben. Ben works as a freelance app developer and is currently developing the app "Boop Bop", a service that checks companies' ethics when buying their products. Ben reluctantly agrees to go with Herschel to the cemetery where Sarah and his son along with Ben's parents are buried. Herschel is disgusted to find the cemetery is in shambles with a Russian vodka billboard overlooking it. This causes him to assault construction workers putting up the billboard, leading to his and Ben's arrest.