THIS IS THE END REVIEW

About The Movie

The comedy This Is The End follows six friends trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. As the world unravels outside, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten to tear apart the friendships inside. Eventually, they are forced to leave the house, facing their fate and the true meaning of friendship and redemption.

What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:

This Is The End’s clear primary objective is making the audience laugh so hard they have to gasp for air, and in that respect the film is a tremendous success. It’s rare that a scene ends without at least one out-loud laugh, and most have several. The story works like a bottle plot that escalates and has the characters becoming more agitated and aggressive over time, leading to hysterical circumstances like Franco and McBride having a screaming match about ejaculating on a porno magazine and a group debate about who gives off the biggest “rape-y vibe” when Emma Watson (also as herself) shows up. Even before the apocalyptic events begin the audience is on the floor, with Franco’s party filled with a number of hilarious cameos –the best being a Superbad reunion between Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and a super coked-up Michael Cera, and Jason Segel bemoaning the downside of being on a long-running sitcom.

With this cast, it would have been a challenge for the movie not to be funny. Each star puts on a tremendous individual performance, while also working perfectly within the ensemble. McBride, who is by far the most stupidly aggressive member of the group, owns more than his fair share of the film’s best moments, but it’s honestly hard to declare a stand-out because everyone is so fantastic. Shame is thrown out of the window fairly frequently as Rogen admits to being “titty-fucked” by bullies as a kid and Robinson sips his own urine out of a martini glass, but it all pays off.

As a directorial debut, Rogen and Goldberg’s work is impressive, not just because of their adept approach to the performances, but also in their visual style. Most of the film takes place in one setting – Franco’s House – but the filmmakers really maximize their space and use it to create multiple set pieces that make the film seem bigger than it is. The post-apocalyptic landscape of Los Angeles is also excellently rendered and the CGI-designed demons and monsters that lurk in the shadows are both beautiful and badass. In their time as a writing duo, Rogen and Goldberg have had the chance to work with some very talented directors, and it appears that they took something away from those experiences.

With titles like Ted, Bridesmaids, and The Hangover, recent years have proven that the summer season can be a great launch pad for R-rated comedies and This Is The End keeps that trend going in hilarious fashion. It’s hard to imagine that a funnier movie will come out this year.

Overall Grade: B+