“Hey, Seth Rogen! You always play the same guy in the same movie. When are you going to do some real acting, man?” This is one of the early lines in This is the End. From the moment the Paparazzi scream those words to Rogen as he strolls through LA Airport, it’s clear what kind of film you’re about to watch – one that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
This year’s most random comedy sees Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel and Craig Robinson attending James Franco’s house-warming party. Danny plays Seth’s old high school friend from Canada, who resents the Hollywood lifestyle. After a typical ‘Pineapple Express’ style drug fuelled afternoon with Seth, he reluctantly heads along to the party. With an impressive cast ensemble including Emma Watson, Michael Cera and Rihanna all playing warped cameo versions of themselves (amongst other well-known guests) a lot of fun is had with the unique concept of this movie.
Outside of the luxury mansion, the world as we know it begins to crumble. This really is the end for most of the parties’ guests as they head out into the LA streets. Seeing this, our six friends barricade themselves inside, making Franco’s crib the setting for the remainder of the movie.
The friends spend an hour and a half entertaining themselves, whilst genuinely entertaining the audience. I’ve not heard so many laughs in a cinema for quite a while. Never has an argument over who gets the last Milky Way been so funny! There was however a few silences too, as many of the scenes are quite clearly improvised leaving some jokes falling a bit flat. Some of the actors should’ve perhaps kept more to the script.
Jonah Hill is actually one of the stand out performances in the production, as his persona as one of the ‘nicest guys in Hollywood’. If you enjoy his performances in other movies such as 21 Jump Street, this movie is worth a watch.
With This is the End being Seth Rogen’s directorial debut, it could’ve been much worse. Rogen clearly provided a fun atmosphere for all actors on set, which relaxes us as viewers. Scenes where the cast members are leaving ‘video messages’ to the world whilst they await their fate are particularly amusing and well edited. It’s just a shame that Rogen decided to keep a few pointless scenes in the final cut, as this could’ve been the comedy of the year.
There are a few things you should look out for – most definitely the funniest ‘gimp revealing’ of the year, and an unexpected special boyband re-union at the end of the movie. Get eating that cinema popcorn quickly aswell, as there are a few memorable ‘jump out of your seat’ moments where most of my snack ended up on my neighbour’s lap.
Overall this is a fun movie worth seeing. It’s not as slick as I’d hoped, but slicker than I’d feared.
Mikey Clarke
Cast: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel&Emma Watson.
Running Time: 1hr 47mins
Director: Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
See this if you liked: Knocked Up & Superbad
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