A sidesplitting mystical comedy for adults where Hollywood comedians play exaggerated versions of themselves against the backdrop of the apocalypse.
Canadian actor Jay Baruchel visits his compatriot and colleague Seth Rogen in Los Angeles. Once best friends, their relationship soured as Rogen’s career took off and he acquired “fancy” Hollywood friends. In an attempt to rekindle their friendship, Seth throws a party for just the two of them with “weed” and video games, then brings Jay to James Franco’s housewarming celebration. At the height of the revelry, the apocalypse begins. Most of Franco’s guests perish in a gaping hellish abyss, while Seth, Jay, James, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride miraculously survive and barricade themselves in the house, trying to survive as the planet goes to hell.
According to the filmmakers, approximately half of the film’s dialogue is improvised by the actors on set.
Seth Rogen’s Directorial Debut
As his fans well know, Seth Rogen is not only a comedian but also a screenwriter. “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” “The Green Hornet” – these comedies were based on his scripts, co-written with his childhood friend Evan Goldberg. “Superbad” was even written long before Rogen became a star. Knowing the trajectory that stars who write their own material usually follow, it was predictable that the actor would eventually sit in the director’s chair. And so it happened. Rogen and Goldberg made their first film, which grossed an impressive $100 million in the American box office this summer for an “adult” comedy (with a $32 million budget).
Before inviting Emma Watson, the filmmakers tried to hire her “Harry Potter” co-star Daniel Radcliffe. He declined the role because he didn’t like the part written for him.
A Raunchy, Hilarious Ride
The main thing you need to know about “This Is the End” is that it’s a very funny movie for those who love Kevin Smith’s comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” No, it’s not a clone or imitation of Smith, but Rogen and Goldberg’s humor is similar to that of the New Jersey director – caustic, goofy, uncompromising, cinephilic, and primarily aimed at men. In “This Is the End,” relatively well-known Hollywood comedians parody their on-screen and public personas, mock their failures (particularly “The Green Hornet”), make outrageously frank jokes about sex, indulge in massive doses of drugs, compete in cowardice and selfishness, try to divide rapidly dwindling supplies (McBride seems to know the joke about “I’ll nibble on everything I don’t eat”), dance to Gangnam Style, film a sequel to “Pineapple Express” on the video camera from “127 Hours”… And, trembling with fear, wait for demons to come and rape them. If you think it won’t go that far, you don’t know Rogen and Goldberg. It will. It will go that far, and to cannibalism. And to beheadings. And to a parody of “The Exorcist.” And to a finale that will remind you of the game Doom and Smith’s “Dogma.” Every time it seems that the filmmakers can’t outdo themselves, they deliver an even more insane, even more surreal, and often even funnier scene. Of course, from the point of view of viewers who don’t write complaints when characters rant about masturbation and disrespectfully refer to Christianity.
More Than Just Laughs
If “This Is the End” were even a little bit serious, it would seem like a rather bleak film about how Hollywood turns actors into self-absorbed dolts, unable to think straight even when the world is collapsing before their eyes. But there’s just enough seriousness in the film so that in some scenes, viewers are not only laughing but also scared for the main characters. It’s definitely not a tragicomedy, and not even a film that uses jokes to hint at something profound. Like “Jay and Silent Bob” (but unlike “Dogma”), it’s pure “fun” – not as witty and not as expansive and diverse as Smith’s, but almost as fiery and much more harsh, focused, and dramatic.