Review of This Is the End (2013) by Liam C — 18 Jan 2015

When the first joke of the movie had me near to tears I knew this was going to be good. This Is the End is a very funny, odd and strange comedy that manages to do excellent things with its bizarre premise.

This is a very funny movie and even its front cover is hilarious. Like I said, the first joke had me close to tears and it only gets funnier from there. A few minutes after that first joke, the laughs got a bit quieter and I thought it'd be one of those movies that makes you laugh hard every so often but I'm glad to say I'm wrong, soon after I laughed hard throughout the whole movie and most of it was improvised too! It also has quite a few, 'did they just say that', moments and they lead to great scenarios and the jokes they make about their careers, both good and bad, provide excellent moments and I'm sure they really enjoyed remembering their movies like that. Everyone in this movie is playing themselves and like some jokes in the movie would imply, that's apparently what they do anyway and given how odd James Franco's Facebook page is, I believe it. Seriously though, they are all really good actors and they are all playing exaggerated versions of what their portrayed personalities are and it is really fun to watch, especially all of the cameos that are in this movie, all of them exaggerated also and they are all funny and work fantastically with each other, it was just fun to see who would show up next. There was a point where I was thinking, 'okay, you smoke weed, we get it,' but given how that's what Rogen and some of the others are known for, it makes sense to exaggerate it. Jay Baruchel did seem like an odd choice at first to be here with all these comedic stars, I've seen him in a lot of comedic roles and he is funny, but maybe that's the point. There is a cameo right at the end and while that actor really wanted to be in this movie, they never showed his face unless it was a close up where nothing else around him could be seen and when it zoomed out his face was covered again, which makes sense for what the chracter was doing because he would have his face covered when it zoomed out but it's almost as if he didn't want to be there, which wasn't the case at all. Maybe I'm over thinking it.

I'd have been fine if the whole plot just took place inside that house with everyone making deprecating jokes at one another because that was absolutely hilarious but considering where it ends up going, I liked it. The concept is already funny but the plot is pretty interesting and goes in directions that I wouldn't have guessed and even if some parts felt like filler, I never lost interest just because of how enjoyable it all was. Also, if you really wanted to look for it, you could probably find some deeper meanings in what some of the characters talk about, namely religion. Not to go too far off the deep end, as at the end of the day you're here to laugh at raunchy comedy, but hey, it's there if you're willing to look at it that way. I think if you're having some issues with religion this could be something fun to watch, or alternatively, make it worse.

The CGI in the movie, though, wasn't the best and it wasn't a problem near the start as it wasn't really needed that much but as the movie went on and relied on it more, it was really obvious. It was also really obvious at some points when they showed the outside of the house from the inside that it was a set and some instances of using a green screen were really obvious. I'm aware the budget for this wasn't massive and I'd rather have the filmmakers spend money on the comedy as opposed to the other things I mentioned, even if most of it was improvised, but it's there, and hey, it's good to still have somewhat inexpensive movies that do wonders with what they have. However, the part where it relied heavy on CGI is also the point where the movie seemed to drastically change tone. The last third of the movie felt really odd and out of place and it was really distracting, the moment I saw that CGI devil penis over Jonah Hill in that bed, yeah I did just say that, it really just changed the tone fast. Soon after that it also has a puke scene which didn't help matters, it just felt like it was going out of its way to make me not like it, however, the ending still kept the humor of before and didn't turn into a serious drama all of a sudden but it certainly was odd. The movie also shows it again on something else and while I'm sure someone found that really funny, I really didn't need to see that. It just seems to be there for a quick shot at gag humor. The movie also just seemed to be really graphic for no reason at some parts; people get killed with blood going everywhere and then a head is rolling around on the floor in another scene and while some of them lead to funny scenarios, it still felt unnecessary. There was a scene with that cameo at the end that actually got taken out because of this, only one? There is also a song used that will date this movie really badly.

Overall though I really had a good time with this and really enjoyed it. By the time the movie got to the end I had a massive smile on my face, even if some of the people in the movie got screwed over before all was said and done. It would have been interesting if the actors pulled a 'Cannibal Holocaust' after the movie had been released and gone away for a while even though I doubt that could have been possible to do today, given how big the movie and its stars are. I doubt they would have wanted to do that anyway but it's just something funny to think about. This Is the End is a brilliant comedy that is really funny and has many references to the movies that they have done in the past and it's just a solid, good, goofy, fun time. I hope there aren't any sequels because it won't capture the same magic that this had; part of the joke is the concept itself but from what they have said it doesn't seem like there will be. This movie might have spoiled Pineapple Express 2 if it ever does get made and that conversation also gets worked into this movie in a smart way. It's a clever, funny and different take on a comedy movie that I haven't seen before. You'll probably never watch their movies the same way again.