This Is the End

By: Robert Murphy

Now I’m going to start this review by saying, I usually don’t go and see a comedy movie in theaters, it’s nothing against comedies, I just get roped into seeing an action or scary movie when I go out but taking one look at “This Is the End” and I was hooked. Seth Rogan and James Franco have been together in a couple of films in recent years and each time I’ve seen them together, it is just pure gold to me and the actors themselves are grade A as well. Joining them in the film is an all-star class of comedy movie characters such as Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride along with other big names that come to James Franco’s home in “This Is the End” for a huge party that they will all be talking about for the rest of their lives……for however long that may be. The party starts out well enough with all these stars playing as themselves like Emma Watson and Rihanna, all supposedly showing what they are all like off the screen, then things go wrong as things begin to erupt and the sky lights up with fire and it’s clear that the end of the days has finally come.

 These guys would not be my pick for an apocalypse team

A big appeal for me in this film right off the get go is the fact that all these stars are playing themselves and I love when a movie does this sort of thing, actors acting about being actors in a movie just tickles me because it makes you question, is this what these people are really like? This also adds to the fact that hey these guys and girls are regular people, they party, and they can be jerks or a bunch of people sitting around talking about life and playing video games in their spare time. This all is erupting in a powder keg of comedy and epicness at James Franco’s party in his incredible bachelor pad I might add and just when you’re starting to enjoy yourself, boop the world comes to end. People are being wrapped up in blue lights and carried off into the sky, being saved and raptured to Heaven while the rest are left panicking and being dragged down into the depths of the Earth in giant holes and so on. It’s all written in that book, you’ve read the book I’m sure, you know that book that’s in every hotel room still, starts with a B…..ahh damn it’ll come to me, anyway all that is going down and it ain’t pretty. Before long all that is left from this party are five guys, Rogan, Baruchel, Franco, Hill and Robinson, the three are left to survive and defend themselves at what this new world that is left after the rapture has brought them and these five comedians are not what you’d call end of the world survival material.

 Emma Watson to the rescue... or not

Now even though the world has collapsed and lawless/chaos are about to become an everyday occurrence, that isn’t even the main part of the story, what “This Is the End” becomes is a sort of “Big Brother” type affair. Each of the five all do hidden confessionals during the film to get what they’re feeling about their whole situation out there for all of us to see and it feels a lot like what you’d expect these comedians to say to each off camera. It is all completely raw and obscene but in the right way that doesn’t overdo it and while it feels all warm and funny, just a bunch of comedians and funny people hanging out together like something right out of the movie “Grown Ups,” there is back stabbing and self-absorption among the stars that takes over. Oh hey right the world ended or something I thought? Often times during the movie I forgot about the fact that it happened because of laughing so hard, “This Is the End” just digs into the personal life of these stars and continues your questions on this being who these people actually are.

 Some “Big Brother” confessionals

“This Is the End” gave me a huge amount of laughs in a dirty/hardcore way that I haven’t laughed at in a while and if anybody were to make it happen again it would be this cast of characters right here. Franco, Rogan, Hill, Baruchel and McBride are all at the top of their games with the laughs just pouring in as it delves into their supposed personal lives and what these guys are actually like outside the big screen…..while being on the big screen at the same time. Also there is a great cast of other famous celebrities included in the film like Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Kevin Heart, Aziz Anasari, Michael Cera and many more and while they’re not part of the movie for long, they make great additions to the film and add to the laughs as well. It was also refreshing to know that some people in Hollywood would actually be raptured up to Heaven and that is heartwarming in a way but then again it was only a few people.

Good:

-Amazing main and supporting cast

-A great level of raunchy and raw laughs

-Makes you question if this is what these people are truly like

Bad:

-There are those too far moments for certain people

Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10