Antics and Actors in the Apocalypse – Now! (‘This is the End’ Analyzed and General Discussion)
Why not an apocalypse themed movie?
Ever wondered what it would be like to hang out with Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and Jay Baruchel, as they all get blitzed off their asses – during the end of the world?
If your response is “Armegeddon outta’ here!” then please, stop reading.
But if you do have a penchant for these members of the ‘Superbad’ alumni; their gross-out comedy and stoner hijinks, then by all means read on – in fact, you better be prepared for what may be the laziest movie of all-time. Is that a bad thing? No, not necessarily, and at its heart the meta-commentary in ‘This is the End’ about Hollywood slackers wouldn’t be complete unless the film ignores most (if not all) story structure elements; skewering Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero’s Journey’ writing wheel and encouraging an hour and half of improvisational humour.
And when I say “improvisational”, I really mean – completely off-the-cuff, stoned-ass jokes; some that hit and some that don’t. The banter is quite similar to ‘Pineapple Express’ so if you’re not “in for” that level of raunchy gimmicks, you may hate your time viewing ‘This is the End’.
However, if you’re the type that loves seeing comedic actors drop the charade and just play themselves – drug addictions, sex-capades, and narcissistic tendencies on full display, then you might just find that this film tickles your funny bone. The meta aspect of the film is that every actor in it is performing a sort of heightened version of themselves, allowing for a healthy dose of self deprecation. This is achieved in a very hodgepodge way – implying that the cast was sort of just allowed to “wing it.” The crude elements do have a sort of unpolished allure, as I often found myself wondering – who the hell let them make this movie?
Although some of the references haven’t aged that well, (I’m looking at you James Franco), the movie has a through-line that ends up dichotomously being both its saving grace and one of its weakest elements. Jay Burachel is the protagonist in ‘This is the End’, and his exclusion (self-imposed or otherwise) from the West LA cliques is what propels us forward in the story and also provides hope for a main character that won’t suffer damnation for the rest of eternity.
Oh, yeah – did I forget to mention?
The gang from ‘Knocked Up’ and ‘Superbad’ gave this movie a religious theme…
Religious themes in horror are a dime-a-dozen but when it comes to horror-comedies there’s marginally less offerings, but still some hugely iconic titles; ‘Dogma’, ‘Lil Nicky’, ‘John & Tucker vs Evil’, AMC’s ‘Preacher’ (Seth Rogen; Produced, Directed), and ‘Ash vs The Evil Dead’ to name a few.
‘This is the End’ proves itself capable of handling the clashing tones without too much dissonance but ultimately the lack of a solid script leaves it a little wanting. I didn’t find myself laughing out loud, so much as shaking my head in disbelief, and chuckling occasionally. There were a lot of “cringe” moments that I could’ve done without
(extended sequence of Franco & McBride threatening to ejaculate, could’ve easily been cut...) and a good number of softballs that made me roll my eyes into the back of my skull. In my opinion, none of these actors were mining comedy gold. If you really enjoy “Broken Lizard” films such as ‘Super Troopers’, ‘Beerfest’ and ‘Club Dread’; this movie might be more of a treat for you.
Myself, I find those comedies to be sub-par.
This film’s strength lies in its star power – and those stars are shining… dimly.
A part of me just couldn’t wait for ‘This is the End’ to be over.
Irony aside — am I being too harsh?
Rating: 4.5/10
A very stale Milky Way bar…
Still great for low blood sugar.
AFTERWORD:
I did want to highlight that ‘This is the End’ managed to snag an insane amount of cameos for its $30 million budget. Quite the feat! As stated by other publications (facts.net) this aspect deserves some attention in itself. So, I’m going to take the time to list every celebrity appearance and role in the picture – ranging from miniscule to major, from minute to massive, from miniature to metropolitan.
Here we go:
Michael Cera (extended cameo at the beginning)
“In what is one of the best cameos of the movie, Michael Cera features as himself, but with characteristics completely unlike himself, as he’s parading around doing drugs and generally acting like a jerk.
In one scene, he pretends to slap Rihanna’s butt, but, while shooting, it didn’t look right, so Cera reportedly asked Rihanna if he could slap her butt for real. The singer approved just as long as she could slap him across the face for real, too.” [1] ScreenRant.com
Emma Watson (extended cameo)
“Wielding an axe and shouting f-bombs, Watson survives the threat of apocalyptic monsters outside, then seems to find solace inside James Franco's house. But she is soon alarmed after overhearing the rest of the house's inhabitants, who are all guys, discuss whether they think she feels uncomfortable as the only female in the house. Reacting to such talk, she puts the boys in their place and then leaves the residence.” [2]
Read More: https://www.looper.com/920827/every-cameo-in-this-is-the-end-ranked/
Mindy Kaling (blink and you miss it)
David Krumholtz (small)
Christopher Mintz-platz (small)
Channing Tatum (mid)
Paul Rudd (blink and you miss it)
Rihanna (mid)
Kevin Hart (mid-large)
Aziz Ansari (small)
Martin Starr (small)
Martin Starr (blink and you miss it)
Sources:
[1] https://screenrant.com/this-is-the-end-movie-behind-scenes-facts/
[2] https://www.looper.com/920827/
