YMMV / An American Pickle

• Accidental Aesop:
  • A good chunk of the movie does seem like it's praising the more extreme parts of Capitalism. A foreign man who has had no time to adapt to his surroundings is somehow able to establish a small business within what's implied to be a few months at the most. Business regulations such as taxes and quality assurance are seen as oppressive. Said business also relies on unpaid labour to meet production demands, but it's called "interning" rather than slavery. Also, any country that isn't America is portrayed as snow-ridden and wild.
  • Ben's plot when held in contrast to Herschel's could be viewed as a Take That! at Millennials. Ben is depicted as whining over First-World Problems and bitter at Herschel's success — which Herschel achieved while living on the streets — to the point where he deliberately tries to ruin him rather than focus on his own career. Also, Ben frequently hangs out at hipster-friendly cafes, which in real life are notoriously expensive.
• Crosses the Line Twice: America's customs office in 1918 does not get the Politically Correct History treatment. One customs officer clearly says "Let's get these Polacks out of the way" right in front of a Polish family and Jewish immigrants have their papers kept in a case simply labelled "JEWS".
• Growing the Beard: An American Pickle is one for Seth Rogen's filmography. The humour isn't as vulgar, the overall tone and atmosphere is Lighter and Softer, and the story appeals more to 20-30 somethings than it would to teenagers.
• Jerkass Woobie: Both Ben and Herschel have their moments.
  • Herschel had a hard life. He had to dig ditches with sub-par tools and oppressive weather. He was chased out of his homeland by cossacks. Even when he got to America, the only job he could get was chasing rats. After his accident, he has to deal with his wife, son and grandson all being dead for decades and his only living relative resents him. While he is far too quick to resort to violence and has some very intolerant views, it's obviously because he's from a different time and culture rather than because he's genuinely bigoted.
  • Ben's parents have died and he's trying to pay tribute to them by building an app. Said app takes him 5 years to fine tune, only to be considered unfeasible due to circumstances outside his control. When Ben tries to retool the app for better market value, he's still rejected. Then after having to watch Herschel succeed seemingly overnight despite Ben's efforts to sabotage him, Ben still falls short. And then after managing to actually get Herschel targeted by immigration, Ben feels guilty and tries to help his relative, only to be mistaken for Herschel and deported.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Herschel's intern Clara. Once Herschel is vilified for making intolerant comments on Twitter, she publicly washes her hands of him with little more than an empty apology. In her defense, she was basically just doing unpaid labour under the guise of interning for a man whose reputation and credentials likely wouldn't have done her any favours in the long-term.