Review: This is the End (2013)

Before I start my review on This is the End, I have to say that I was probably not this film’s target market.  I like raunchy comedies and I like when they get creative, but I honestly didn’t know who any of the main actors in this film were aside from James Franco.  Sure, I’ve heard Seth Rogen’s name before, but I couldn’t tell you what movies I’ve seen him in (if any).  I think one of the major draws to this film was in revisiting these actors, seeing what they’ve put together since their last romp together.  Much the same way people just LOVE Jerry Lewis or somesuch, you kind of have to be a fan to appreciate the movie fully.  Me, I thought it was funny - just not that funny.

The story of This is the End is simple enough.  A bunch of famous people are at a party.  Then something crazy happens and the world starts going to hell.  The survivors are forced to hole up in James Franco’s house while they figure out what to do.  As it turns out, the world really has gone to hell - as in the demons have risen from the Earth ala biblical prophecy.  As the movie moves onward, we discover that the good people are all being taken to heaven.  So each of the survivors must find a way to redeem themselves in order to convince God that they’re worthy of being saved.  Lots of dick and fart jokes are the cement to the film and eventually some of the crew arrives to find a version of heaven that would personally leave me wanting to return to the demon-infested Earth.

Funny enough, the highlights of this film for me were in the cameo appearances.  The best performance by far was from Michael Cera, who plays a coked-out version of himself.  Next up was Emma Watson, who shows up for about five minutes and then flees.  Everyone else… meh.  Like I said, I don’t really know who most of these folks are and I found them to be more annoying than anything else.  Jay Baruchel was particularly bad, paying very little attention to any sort of character consistency.  I think his directorial instructions must have read “whine and be annoying” and he improvised the rest.  Danny McBride was another than drove me nuts, but then in a movie based off of dick and fart jokes you have to have your token, personality-less buffoon.

Would I call this film unwatchable?  I wouldn’t go that far.  As a matter of fact, I enjoyed about 60% of it (the beginning, the end and when Watson showed up).  But the repetition of the comedy dragged on me and I don’t have enough investment in any of the actors to hang on and have patience while they come up with a joke that works.  If you’re a fan of these guys, you’ll probably like it.  In fact, I think it’s a safe bet to say that most people will have a good time.  Just don’t expect anything spectacular.

The folks at Rotten Tomatoes were very generous with this one, giving it an 83/74% rating.  I’d tend to agree with the audience assessment rather than the critical one - not bad, but not great either.

Photo Credits -           

This is the End courtesy of beyondhollywood.com