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THIS IS THE END
The Judd Apatow Rep Company deliver some solid laughs in 2013's This is the End, a comic satire that kept me laughing, despite a saggy middle and forays into some really tasteless toilet bowl humor.
Seth Rogan and Jay Baruchel, playing themselves, arrive at James Franco's house for a party where we are introduced to the rest of the company and the various friends and fans of Seth and writing partner Evan Goldberg. Seth and Jay leave the party to go to a convenience store for cigarettes where they witness a bizarre incident where innocent people seem to be sucked into the sky by a mysterious blue light. The boys return to Franco's house just in time for some kind of explosion to hit the house, murdering most of Franco's guest list and leaving Rogan, Baruchel, Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride as allegedly the only human beings still alive in the city of Los Angeles.
Rogen and Goldberg put a lot of thought and imagination into the screenplay for this comedy. One thing I liked is that even though everyone in the film is playing themselves, the screenplays creates fictional relationships and personalities for the actors involved that make them real actors playing fictional versions of themselves. For example, upon Baruchel's arrival in LA, we learn that he can't stand Franco and Hill and has no desire to go to this party. The initial exposition also sets up Jonah Hill as this sweet angelic guy who loves everybody and everything and Michael Cera as this total scumbag who treats everyone in his path like crap. Rogen and Goldberg crafted this story around all of their buddies but constructed a story that took all of these actors out of their comfort zones, which made what was going on very tempting to invest in.
Once the initial set up of this alleged apocalypse is established during the first act, there is some struggle keeping the story viable as the weight of the story suddenly falls on four or five actors working on what is essentially a single set. The claustrophobia of the story does begin to settle in for a bit and interest does begin to wane and it is at this point that Rogen and Goldberg cop out with toilet bowl humor that seemed out of place with the initial story set up, but they do manage to bounce back for a slam-bang, if slightly over-the-top finale.
The actors are all friends IRL and their respect for each other comes through here. It was so great seeing Rogen and Franco reunited and I love the scene where they get stoned and discuss a sequel to Pineapple Express. Also loved Seth's inventory of their supplies, the discussion of which survivor was most deserving of the only Milky Way in the house, and the Franco/McBride "jerk off" argument (don't ask).
Rogen and Goldberg were apparently given an unlimited budget and used it to employ some first rate art direction and special effects. The film also features cameos from Mindy Kaling, David Krumholtz, Rhianna, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Channing Tatum, and Kevin Hart. There are better comedies out there, but fans of the stars will not be disappointed.
The Judd Apatow Rep Company deliver some solid laughs in 2013's This is the End, a comic satire that kept me laughing, despite a saggy middle and forays into some really tasteless toilet bowl humor.
Seth Rogan and Jay Baruchel, playing themselves, arrive at James Franco's house for a party where we are introduced to the rest of the company and the various friends and fans of Seth and writing partner Evan Goldberg. Seth and Jay leave the party to go to a convenience store for cigarettes where they witness a bizarre incident where innocent people seem to be sucked into the sky by a mysterious blue light. The boys return to Franco's house just in time for some kind of explosion to hit the house, murdering most of Franco's guest list and leaving Rogan, Baruchel, Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride as allegedly the only human beings still alive in the city of Los Angeles.
Rogen and Goldberg put a lot of thought and imagination into the screenplay for this comedy. One thing I liked is that even though everyone in the film is playing themselves, the screenplays creates fictional relationships and personalities for the actors involved that make them real actors playing fictional versions of themselves. For example, upon Baruchel's arrival in LA, we learn that he can't stand Franco and Hill and has no desire to go to this party. The initial exposition also sets up Jonah Hill as this sweet angelic guy who loves everybody and everything and Michael Cera as this total scumbag who treats everyone in his path like crap. Rogen and Goldberg crafted this story around all of their buddies but constructed a story that took all of these actors out of their comfort zones, which made what was going on very tempting to invest in.
Once the initial set up of this alleged apocalypse is established during the first act, there is some struggle keeping the story viable as the weight of the story suddenly falls on four or five actors working on what is essentially a single set. The claustrophobia of the story does begin to settle in for a bit and interest does begin to wane and it is at this point that Rogen and Goldberg cop out with toilet bowl humor that seemed out of place with the initial story set up, but they do manage to bounce back for a slam-bang, if slightly over-the-top finale.
The actors are all friends IRL and their respect for each other comes through here. It was so great seeing Rogen and Franco reunited and I love the scene where they get stoned and discuss a sequel to Pineapple Express. Also loved Seth's inventory of their supplies, the discussion of which survivor was most deserving of the only Milky Way in the house, and the Franco/McBride "jerk off" argument (don't ask).
Rogen and Goldberg were apparently given an unlimited budget and used it to employ some first rate art direction and special effects. The film also features cameos from Mindy Kaling, David Krumholtz, Rhianna, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Channing Tatum, and Kevin Hart. There are better comedies out there, but fans of the stars will not be disappointed.