This Is The End

 

I tend to go to the cinema at least once per week but the ratio of cinema trips to comedies is always low.  On a successful year the correlation between cinema trips to romantic comedies is zero. 

I would love to say that I save the cinema for other genres and keep the wonder that is comedy for my DVD collection but I can’t.  It’s not that I don’t like laughing.  I am not permanently miserable.  The problem is there is an infinite number of comedy actors but very few that are actually funny.  This does not bode well for the films they star in.  I judge a comedy by the cast listed on the poster.  I will never deviate from this Rule of Life.

This Is The End starred the latest trendy Hollywood clique which was created circa 2007.  The Frat Pack had been pulling this stunt for years until the universe realised that Vince Vaughn wasn’t funny.

I knew going into This Is The End that there would be no middle ground – it was either going to be hilarious or the longest 107mins (IMDB) of my entire life.

PLOT:  Jay Baruchel arrives in LA to spend some time with his old friend Seth Rogen.  Seth persuades a reluctant Jay to go to a party at James Franco’s house.  The party is interrupted by an earthquake which sucks the scum of Hollywood (Rhianna) and random television stars into a sinkhole. Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBribe and Craig Robinson all try and stick together in order to survive the apocalypse.  END PLOT

ADDENDUM PLOT:  *sob* Channing Tatum *sob* END ADDENDUM PLOT

After a very slow opening section This Is The End finally gets going once we rock up to Franco’s party although far too much time is wasted name dropping television stars that I have never heard of. 

The plot is basic to non-existent as the characters simply hang around Franco’s house and annoy the hell out of each other.  This isn't a criticism.  The bickering and arguments flow freely as does the adlibbing and one liners with discussions over bathroom porn and a Milky Way (a Mars Bar to the rest of the world) being genuinely hilarious.

The comedy is crude and the language is foul but it is also ridiculously clever.  The actors have exaggerated their known personalities and play caricatured versions of themselves.  It works very well for James Franco, America’s Sweetheart Jonah Hill and Michael Cera.

This Is The End has six lead actors which was a recipe for danger as each individual has the potential for being extremely annoying.  There were plenty of big egos involved but the screen time is split very well as everyone gets their chance to shine and give the audience a good few giggles.  Seth Rogen may have written and directed the film but he resisted the urge to shoehorn himself into the lead role.  I thank him for this.

The quality of the special effects were on par with the series finale of Buffy The Vampire Slayer but this oddly makes the film more endearing.  The homemade feel worked in its favour especially during moments like the exorcism scene.

As with all comedies there are a few dud jokes but this isn’t This Is The End’s biggest flaw – the weakest aspect of the film is the length as the beginning and end sequences were too long.  This film needed to be a snappy 90min comedy.   

Despite being too long This Is The End is easily going to be the best comedy of 2013.  It gets an 8.5/10.  This Is The End hasn’t done the careers of those involved any harm at all – whether or not this is a good thing remains to be seen.  There is always room for more Jonah Hill though. Always.

I don't know how/when/why either.