MOVIE REVIEW: THIS IS THE END

Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel star as themselves along with Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, and Craig Robinson in this end-of-days comedy that finds the actors hiding out with James Franco in his apartment as the apocalypse decimates L.A. outside. Featuring cameos by Jason Segel and Emma Watson, the Sony Pictures film features the directing debuts of Rogen and frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg

Cast: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson

Release Date: Jun 12, 2013

Rated R for Crude and Sexual Content, Brief Graphic Nudity, Drug Use, Pervasive Language and Some Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 47 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

This Is The End is one of the raunchiest, most inspired comedies I’ve seen since The Hangover or Anchorman. The premise is simple the rapture happens and all hell, literally, breaks loose. At its heart it’s a simple conceit to get these faux versions of the actors shut into a house together under dire situations. In its simplicity the script allows plenty of riffs, verbal jabs and all out attacks on preconceived notions about each actor, it’s done with such aplomb that some of it has to be improvised. Some play themselves closer to what we’d expect while others go off the rails like Michael Cera playing a coked out proxy himself to hilarious effect. It all works so well mainly because these actors appear to be friends in the real world. As a result, their interactions ring true throughout. Verbal interchanges can reach a dizzying height of hilarity, so much so that this movie will probably require multiple viewing to catch all the jokes being flung across each actor’s mast. The cast all around is strong with Jay Baruchel doing yeoman’s work as the film’s center but special praise has to be given to Danny McBride. McBride is incredibly impressive here doling out some of the funniest lines of the film. There are a few minor issues keeping this from being perfect. The last 15 minutes or so really start to teeter out as things get more and more absurd. Part of the issue is that the script has trouble finding an ending and they didn’t want to go for the most logical conclusion. Additionally, the cast gets broken up in the last act robbing the film of some of its bite. As a result, it feels like the film could have been trimmed by 15 minutes. Minor issues aside, This Is The End is simply a comic gem.

A-

Check out the original 2007 comedy short that inspired this movie;

Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse