Mine:
It’s been a while since I have laughed like this. Actually, that’s a lie. My best friend fell down the other day and guys, I was in stitches! But I mean laughed at a movie or a TV show. Like a hearty laugh. Like, the last time I nearly pooped myself from laughing was Bridesmaids and 21 Jump Street was a close second. I can say “pooped” in this academic setting because we’re discussing Seth Rogen’s very, very silly and very ridiculous This Is The End. I loved it. A lot.
This Is The End works on several levels. First of all: it’s just f-cking funny. And it never stops. It slowly builds, and it gets really funny when everything goes crazy. It’s funny in the self-aware way. You know by now that everyone makes fun of themselves, and for the audience members who aren’t as well versed in James Franco’s essays, art exhibits, guesting on soap operas, his daily social experiments, that time he ruined hosting the Oscars for Anne Hathaway and all around being a total pretentious asshole, those jokes might get lost, but if you know all this already, it just adds to the surprising complexity of the film. I came out of this loving Franco (as an actor, as he’s still too precious of a celebrity to find likable in the slightest) which is the magic of the movie. It’s so fun, so ridiculous, so over-the-top that me, not a big fan of Craig Robinson, came out of it declaring him the MVP of the entire cast (seriously, he kills it).
The film also works as very, very light sci-fi adventure. Think Attack The Block-style. There are some jumpy moments scattered throughout that catch you off guard as you were just killing yourself laughing seconds earlier. There’s really not much else for me to say. Loved it.
David’s:
This is The End marks the directorial debuts of the writing duo and bff’s Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg. Personally these guys have made some of my favorite comedies post the new millennium and This is The End does not disappoint in the slightest, As it shouldn’t. I mean, forget what I was expecting going into this movie, once the world started to end I couldn’t contain the laughter. That’s what this movie was trying to do right? Make us laugh. Witnessing our favourite actors playing themselves (or at least who we expect them to be) experience the apocalypse together and enjoying all the ridiculous fun that goes along with it. But why does my brain keep hinting me maybe these guys were saying ‘more’ then just jokes, and there was an actual sense of substance and social statements beneath it all.
This Is The End was originally a short made in 2007 by Seth and Evan called Jay and Seth face the Apocalypse. This time around they bring in a whole lot of friends. I haven’t watched the short but I admire the fact that they kept this film focused around Jay and Seth’s friendship with that Hollywood spin. It does a really good job in creating that sense of conflict between the two before shit goes down, and carrying it on as the shit is falling. Maybe we do see these guys as just actors, and not as us handling the same problems and issues on even a grander scale.
Am I not talking enough about how funny this is? Let me makes this clear, I can talk about how funny this is, but that’s really not going to do it any justice, because it’s beyond that. The only downfall I could think of is how its gets a lot of laughs from things that maybe won’t be relevant in 10 years time. But who cares, I’m watching this now in 2013 and I’m shitting my pants just like Seth when he sees the tigers in the Gladiator. Also, This is The End is filled with all sorts of action that flows in great with the comedy and doesn’t really miss a beat. It’s also packed with references, whether it be film wise, or pop culture to the top and it works because this movie doesn’t take place in ‘movie world’ it takes place in James Franco’s house. So many little easter eggs too that were brought up from previous Rogen And Goldberg stories make an appearance that will make any loyal fan happy. Go watch This Is The End.
