This is the End is
loose, and lumpy and loopy. There’s a plot in there but it’s a really thin one
that you shouldn’t really concern yourself with all that much. The world ends,
there’s the rapture, and a bunch of actors playing themselves try to survive in
the midst of all this. There’s also a surprisingly good story of friends
growing apart as they get older and life changes them. But fuck it. That’s not
really what you’re going to care about. What will sell the film for you is
whether you find it funny or not.
Initially the film isn’t terribly funny. It’s trying to do
the heavy lifting of getting us to the better comic setpieces that are the
highlight of the film. There are some funny moments, particularly involving a
parade of cameos where celebrities play hilarious versions of themselves, but it’s
all just marking time until we get to the really juicy material. However, as
the film progresses it starts to take on a weird, delirious momentum. The film picks up
speed and immerses you more into its absurdity and everyone is so utterly game
for whatever crazy joke is at play that it works in spite of its ridiculousness.
The film has the sensibility of a bunch of good friends
getting together and just filming things they find funny. A lot of this could
feel as if you’re missing out on some inside joke that you’re not in on (where the actors are having more fun than we are), and at
times it has that quality. But for the most part, the film avoids being a vanity project and there's enough self-deprecation that it doesn't fall into total self-indulgence. The actors (who all
play themselves) make jokes that are very specific to their perceived Hollywood
personas and film careers. This specificity doesn't always work; there’s a parody/reunion of Pineapple Express that never lands because it pushes the film into
an area of comedy where the writers and actors are just dicking around way too
much. It’s also a portion of the film that speaks to how much the film is a
series of sequences that are very loosely strung together. Some of these sequences
made me laugh more than I have at a movie in theaters in a long time (There's a Rosemary's Baby parody that is brilliantly, screamingly hysterical). And yet
others were really tedious and felt somewhat pointless.
Ultimately though, the sequences that do work are enough to
carry the movie. The promotional material involving Emma Watson was not leading
you on; her appearances in the film are some of the more memorable sequences of
the film. The cameos in general are all rather effective – including a surreal
one from Michael Cera and one from Channing Tatum that I won't spoil for you. The film has just enough critique of celebrity and
Hollywood excesses, with a wry winking self-aware irony, that these cameos don’t
seem attention grabbing but simply part of the films larger goal to make us
laugh by any means necessary.
This is the End falls
into a tradition of comedy where the writers and actors throw everything at us
they can possibly come up with and hope it sticks. It’s anarchic, with little logic. It’s silly,
and at times stupid and outrageous. It plays up these actors’ (Seth Rogan,
James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel) perceived
personas, and yet the excesses of their persona’s and this celebrity lifestyle
somehow fit in surprisingly well with the excesses of apocalyptic, end of the
world movies. Much of the film’s humor comes from the characters’ total
ineptitude in the face of their circumstances. The actors are willing to make
fun of themselves, and the film isn’t afraid to not take itself seriously. And
in this the film discovers some jokes. Weird, ballsy, satirical, occasionally stupid, jokes. Some work; some don’t. But those that do are pretty damn funny.
Grade: B-
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