Review: This is the End

Remember the days when Seth Rogen didn’t write crude genitalia humor; his scripts were full of intricacies and complexities—something more than cheap laughs? Neither do I.

Director(s): Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

Writer(s): Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

Based on: Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse by Jason Stone

Released: June 12, 2013

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson

2/5 Milky Way Bars

“Something totally not chill happened last night.”

Apocalyptic media has become a trend in the entertainment industry in the last few years. With the saturation of the market you think it’d stave off any big names from throwing their hats in for a while. But, apparently no job is too big for Seth Rogen and friends who take the horror-comedy genre and place it over the apocalypse; turning it into an audacious trip through the world of vanity and destruction.

This is the End is a clever story which entails a bunch of celebrities (Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, Rihanna, Michael Cera, etcetera), all playing fictionalized versions of themselves, going to James Franco’s new abode for a house warming party that is ruined by the coming apocalypse. What ensues starts out as a very intriguing, and genuinely funny, romp through the lives of celebrities just getting together to hang out. The moments of self-parody are the high points of the movie. What is so attractive about this scenario is the idea of being let in on the inside jokes of these famous enigmas that society has come to know. They all seem to have a “if you’re going to fail you might as well fail spectacularly” mindset which was apparent and useful for the film. Franco was effete, Jonah Hill was cocky but hid it under a veneer of kindness, and Michael Cera was an aggressive coke-addict; they shamelessly made fun of themselves which was an admirable idea. Honestly, the metafictional world is strangely immersive. Even when a majority of the celebrities die and we are only left with Rogen, Baruchel, Franco, Hill, McBride, and Robinson all holed up in Franco’s house, the movie continues to be audacious, clever, and loads of fun.

However, the first half hour of the movie, no matter how enjoyable and full of promise, did not protect it from overstaying its welcome as it dipped drastically from wit to contrived crudities and gross-outs.

The film drifted into well know territory of the Judd Apatow crowd and they will feel right at home here: With a steady flow of masturbation, drugs, genitalia, and overall off-color humor being prevalent throughout. It’s not that the movie was too repulsive or insulting as much as it just wasn’t funny. Perhaps I’m jaded but this stuff just doesn’t do anything for me anymore—it hardly did in the first place. One can imagine this being filmed and conceptualized much like “Pineapple Express 2” was conceived in this film: early in the morning, intoxicated, and with a one-shot mentality.

Rogen and Goldberg’s directorial debut is void of rhythm. Rather, it seemed that the script was lazily adlibbed and the big laughs were few and far between. The between is just the product of these actors without supervision. Sometimes this is successful and other times just embarrassing.  The humor is repetitive and puerile. The majority of the time I was just laughing out of pity.  The issue is the contrived nature of the comedy; nothing seemed to flow naturally—including the pseudo-sentimental bromance between Jay and Seth. Jay, the indie hipster, and Seth, the new cool kid of Los Angeles, have drifted apart from a long-lasting friendship that is seemingly at an end. This creative ploy may have been successful in providing enough honesty to carry the film through its dry points but the relationship was completely unbelievable.

The camera work was above par; however, working to almost immerse you into the horror elements of the film. Some positive things can be said there. The world was crafted very well leading us through a maze of destruction and something close to tension. This is a gory film and it’s utilized sparingly and suitably for the horror-comedy direction.

This is the sort of movie that is more attractive after watching; when you’ve weeded out the inane and only remember the worthwhile bits. But if you really think about what you watched (rape jokes, gay jokes, bodily dysfunctions, vulgarity, and complete lack of wit) you would remember what a completely tedious and disappointing experience it was.

Most of the time it felt like the actors were having more fun than the audience. Perhaps they expected this. Maybe it was a blatant vanity projects and well, why not? It’s an appealing thing to consider. I would have made this film with my friends and even though I would probably watch it and say it was terrible I would still love the memories and inside jokes.

This is the End was full of promise and exciting prospects from the beginning. Unfortunately Seth and friends slip face first into the ejaculate of their own vanity.

Pros: Camera work was above par, The world was crafted very well, the gore is  utilized sparingly and suitably for the horror-comedy direction,
Cons: Script was lazily adlibbed and the big laughs were few and far between, humor is repetitive, nothing seemed to flow naturally,
Rating: 2/5 Milky Way Bars

Contribution by Ryan Horner