by Erin Hatch, Editor

Some of us possess a certain mindset that will sometimes try to form a plan for what to do in the worst of all possible circumstances: The end of the world. Gather supplies, find like-minded colleagues, locate a defensible position, build a new life. Oftentimes those like-minded survivors are people that we knew and liked when the world was whole: family, co- workers, best friends… But what happens to those relationships when the comforts of the world disappear? What happens when none of your acquaintances have much in the way of survival skills? What happens when the only people you have at your disposal are five other comedy actors who were barely tolerable people to begin with?

This Is The End.

The story begins when two old friends reunite for a weekend of video gaming and having a chemically enhanced good time. Actor Jay Baruchel (Jay Baruchel- How to Train Your Dragon, Undeclared) comes to Los Angeles to hang out with his old friend Seth Rogen (played by Seth Rogen- Pineapple Express, Undeclared- who also co-wrote and co- directed this film with longtime friend Evan Goldberg, who was Rogen’s co- writer on Superbad and Pineapple Express) and then something goes terribly wrong: Seth drags Jay out to James Franco’s housewarming party filled with obnoxious Hollywood types like Franco (James Franco- The Great and Powerful Oz, 127 Hours), Jonah Hill (Jonah Hill- Moneyball, Superbad) and Michael Cera (Michael Cera- Scott Pilgrim, Arrested Development– in the most diverse role of his career). Unfortunately for the various celebrities, the party is interrupted by the end of the world. Most of the featured cameos perish or disappear in one quick rush, leaving six actors standing: Baruchel, Rogen, Franco, Hill, Craig Robinson (Craig Robinson- Hot Tub Time Machine, The Office) and party crasher, surprise guest and all around douchebag Danny McBride (Danny McBride- Pineapple Express, Your Highness).

Once This Is The End begins, the film becomes a comedic exploration of six egos trapped in a house, doing what they can to survive using the expectedly limited survival skills they developed as actors while the world falls apart around them. As the boundaries between the friends fall, some of the six grow increasingly hostile and vulgar. There is a lot of shock humor, relishing in breaking through the boundaries of bad taste and exploring the space beyond, and a lot of drug-based humor, but there are clever gags as well, and a lot of funny character work, as the actors explore personas that are exaggerated characterizations of themselves. I particularly enjoyed some of the musical cues that they chose to emphasize particular moments, definitely building on the humor of those scenes.

Aside from being a very funny movie, This Is The End delivers some intense scares. The explosive sounds that accompany the end of the world are really striking, and the CGI is impressive as well, despite a few rough edges. While the celebrity cameos are fun, the vast majority happens for the party scene at the beginning of the movie and are over way too fast. It might have been nice to see them spread out a bit, at least to the point where you can recognize where each dies instead of having them disappear in a big rush all at once.

Overall:

The humor might not be for everyone, but if you are ok with vulgarity, profanity, obscenity and maybe some light blasphemy, This Is The End will prove to be a very funny- and sometimes frightening- look at the end of the world and what it does to human relationships. The uneven spacing of the celebrity cameos aside, there is much to enjoy in this wacky, surreal look at the apocalypse.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives This Is The End 5 out of 5 gruesome celebrity deaths.

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