THIS IS THE END (review)

Review By Joe Yezukevich

This Is the End should be looked at as a viciously funny rumination on friendship, success and what it means to be a good person.  Unfortunately, as we learn from the film, most actors in Hollywood aren’t particularly good people.

The movie opens with Seth Rogen picking up Jay Baruchel at LAX. Jay doesn’t like LA and Seth is on a mission to change that.

His plan is to bring Jay to James Franco’s housewarming party. Once Jay gets to know all of Seth’s LA friends, he will totally be won over by everyone and will learn to love them and LA.  Jay feels like his friendship with Seth is growing apart while his LA friends all think he’s the greatest (most of all the Rogen obsessed Franco).

The cameo rich party scene is stolen by Michael Cera who just may have perfected the role of Hollywood megalomaniac.

Unfortunately for Seth’s plan, we learn that everyone truly is a jerk (especially the self important Hill) and then the Biblical apocalypse unfolds. The party is over (most literally) and we are left with Seth, Jay, and James Franco with Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride.   This crew of six rambles through a hilarity-strewn lock-down at Franco’s while the world literally goes to Hell outside.

With rations limited, an enormous amount of time on their hands (filming a guerrilla version of Pineapple Express 2) and personalities grating, the actual coming of the apocalypse is nothing more than a MacGuffin used to take a quick glance at major philosophical ideas like the nature of good and evil, faith, and the morals of survival.

Much of the film’s success and humor is dependent on how well you know the actors and their work, but This Is The End is the rare self indulgent comedy that works.