The end of the world has
never been funnier than in 'This is the End,' Seth Rogen's and Evan Goldberg's
directorial debut about world-ending cataclysm during a party at James
Franco's pad in the Hollywood Hills. The
movie starts off with Seth Rogen reconnecting with an old friend from way back
when he was in Canada (Jay Baruchel), who reluctantly allowed himself to be
dragged into Seth's new rich-and-famous lifestyle when they crashed James
Franco's house-warming party, a party also attended by Jonah Hill, Craig
Robinson, Michael Cera, Jason Segal, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mindy Kaling,
Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, Martin Starr and David Krumholtz; in other words a
veritable 'Who's Who?' of anyone who ever appeared in a Judd Apatow movie. The only exceptions were Barbados-born pop star Rihanna and Wallflower/Harry Potter-alum Emma Watson. Another Apatow collaborator, Danny McBride,
showed up the next day, but you probably already knew all this from the movie's trailer.
'This is the End' is inspired by a 2007 short by Seth
Rogen and Jay Baruchel called 'Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back,' ahem, 'Jay and
Seth versus Evil,' which they developed into a full length parody of
apocalyptic sci-fi and the supernatural.
In portraying themselves rather than fictional roles, the actors also
get to parody themselves and have some fun while at it. At its core, the movie is about six people
drawn together under trying circumstances (if 'Doomsday' qualifies as such) who
have to band together to survive the Apocalypse, but it also riffs some of
Hollywood's more familiar tropes. When
people are zapped into Heaven, they look like they're abducted by aliens. The movie also pays homage to William Peter
Blatty's 'The Exorcist' and throws in various movie and pop-culture references ranging from 'Max Max' cannibals to a well endowed giant lava demon (think a raunchier version of the stay puft marshmallow man from 'Ghostbusters') to a
Backstreet Boys reunion. You have to see it
to believe it, or not.
Chances are, if you decide to see 'This is the End,' you are
already predisposed to like the kind of irreverent, subversive, 'did I just
hear them say that?' phallic humor in stoner comedies such as 'Superbad,' 'Pineapple
Express,' 'Your Highness,' 'Hot Tub Time Machine' and 'Zack and Miri.' These movies are unapologetically offensive
and we really should hang our heads in shame for enjoying them.
Grade: B+
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