The end of days is nigh. It’s the end of the world, as we know it. To lift a quote from Ghostbusters; Human sacrifices, cats and dogs living together…mass hysteria for all. If you’ve lived a good clean life, then the gates to heaven shall open and beams of light will take the righteous on a one-way trip to meet their maker. However if you happen to be a self-absorbed actor, then you’ll probably find yourself left to rot in the pits of post apocalyptic Los Angeles as payback for the wicked sin of self-idolisation. So sets the outrageous premise for the new Apocalyptic Stoner comedy This is the End.
James Franco is throwing the house warming party to end all house warming parties. Everyone who is anyone is in attendance. At the behest of his long time buddy Seth Rogan; Jay Baruchel is dragged to the party against his will. Once there, they catch up with the regular grouping of Apatow regulars. All of which are playing outrageous caricature versions of their own celebrity image. On one hand, you have Michael Cera playing a coked up chauvinist pig headed jerk, which is a genuinely funny stand out gag. And on the other end of the spectrum you have Jonah Hill playing the nicest guy in the world – or at least on the surface he appears to be the nicest guy in the room.
The screaming night of debauchery comes to an abrupt halt when the world is suddenly thrown into chaos thanks to the rapture. The majority of the A-list guests are instantly smited to hell leaving only the main members of the frat pack behind to hold up fort in Franco’s house. As such, they hold out hope of being rescued. Because as is common knowledge, everyone knows A-List Self Involved Celebs should take main priority in being rescued as they bring joy and happiness to peoples lives.
This Is the End Review
Posted by Daniel Mann - 16/7/2013
This is the End originated from the short film, Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse produced by Seth Rogan and Jay Baruchel. In a manner of speaking, it is befitting to note that the feature length effort is more then faithful to that short film as, for the most part, it’s really just a film made up of short interconnected sketches. All of which see the frat pack acting as 30-something slackers bumming around a house in the midst of the apocalypse.
Helping to compensate for what is otherwise an aimless and drifting narrative. These scenarios generally repeat the one gag of having each of the frat pack members gradually irritate one another as they poke fun at each other’s career decisions. The catalyst that brings all of this to light is a consistently hilarious Danny McBride who quickly becomes the thorn in their collective side. He quickly lays waste to the limited food supplies and, in turn, loads up plentiful rounds of harsh yet hilarious criticism towards his fellow members of the frat pack.
To the credit of the collective ensemble, none of the actors involved here are shy at taking pot shots at themselves or one another. As such, they are all more then willing to parody themselves in the most absurd of ways. The problem with this is that the film ends up running dangerously close to losing momentum awfully quickly as it just seems a little too content to keep hitting that one gag over the head repeatedly. As funny as that one gag is, it wears thin a little too quickly.
At just under two hours, it suffers from the same problem that tends to plague most Apatow branded films. It’s slightly too long and is in need of another pass in editing. Thankfully though, just when the film seems to have almost run out of steam, co-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg stride into the third act with a new found sense of vigour as they manage to bring the focus back to the survivalist aspects, allowing for a fresh set of gags, and an unexpected cameo that bought the house down with laughter. They also manage to inject a sense of sizeable threat as is provided by a couple of hellish demons, crafting some rather solid chase sequences in the process. It’s here in its denouement that the film manages to find its feet again and goes from being just solidly funny to uproariously hilarious with its newfound energy.
Despite the problems it faces in terms of narrative and pacing, there is still an abundance of laughs to be had. This is the End strives to hit the bold levels of in-joke that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back once pulled off. It doesn't ever quite reaches that level of boldness but as such, it's a very fun and solidly crafted piece of comedic fantasy farce. The ratio of genuine laughs to be had more then makes up for its few shortcomings. Speaking as someone who has become increasingly bored with the Apatow's shtick, I must admit that I got a ton of laughs from this and as such, it is one of the better efforts that he's produced in quite some time.
☆☆☆½
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