Movie Review: This Is The End

When you mention Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen in the same sentence you know a good laugh is usually on the cards. Throw in apocalyptic drama and a host of cameos from actors and others from the celeb-sphere- Rhianna, Emma Watson, James Franco, Michael Cera to name but a few- playing on-screen versions of themselves and you have some pretty interesting, funny and at times weird viewing.

Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, ‘This Is The End’ strikes the perfect balance between comedy and horror. You know when something is so gross it actually ends up being ludicrously funny? They do that really well. Its over the top, crass, crude and rude which is the only kind of comedy you can expect from the aforementioned actors.

The plot is simple: Rogen and his pals, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride, are holed up in James Franco’s lavish home following a crazy party whilst the world comes to an end outside. Your enjoyment level for this movie will largely depend on your love for the cast since they are playing self-involved, idiotic versions of themselves. Haven’t seen Superbad? Not keen on Pineapple Express or Youth in Revolt? You probably won’t want to see this then. You could also struggle with the self-referential style throughout the crazy shenanigans- cue in-jokes and film references from the cast’s career back catalogues.

The plot is at times flimsy and a little all over the place- the big joke is the literal re-enactment the Book of Revelations and how the end of the world highlights the low points of the entertainment business and the social privileges that these guys are used to thanks to their star status. Self-deprecating and derogatory humour always goes down well and that’s probably where the charm sits in ‘This is the End’. The audience get to watch actors larking about as themselves, [or at least we hope an exaggerated version of themselves] and it feels like we’re in on their joke.

At first glance it would be easy to label this as a half-hearted comedy, a lazy, sure-fire way for these guys to bring in the dollars by reeling off the funny-man cast and letting them play their own funny selves- no character development necessary. However, they have attempted to address a deeper issue of what it means to be ‘celebrities’ and ‘actors’ and how inconsequential this becomes when faced with the end of the world. Of course the big laughs [dick jokes and pop culture refs] and gnarly horror scenes [cannibalism and a bottomless pit], mean that the social commentary at times could be lost on some viewers who are simply looking for crassness of the highest degree but its important to highlight that these funny guys did try and throw in some reason to their crazy crudeness- a film can be as funny as funny can be but if there is not an attempt to highlight a bit of spirit, warmth or morality then there really is no point to it.

Definitely worth a watch- unless you’re easily offended or have an extreme distaste for the Backstreet Boys.