Review of This Is the End (2013) by Douglas C — 23 Aug 2014
'This is the End' finds the whole Judd Apatow crew in top form. Having not been an admirer of Rogen and Co.'s previous efforts such as "I Love you Man" and "Pineapple Express", I found myself giddily enjoying this latest offering which boasts rapid-fire comic sensibilities and enough oh-my-god-did-this-just-happen? moments to justify the time spent watching it.
Normally, I find the Apatow humor shamelessly crude in all the wrong ways (save for a few films like "Knocked Up", "40 Year Old Virgin" and "Funny People", the three of which offered tight dramatic underpinnings and a winning sense of purpose).
This film pretty much goes for broke at every turn and more than earns its R rating in a number of different ways. Some standout sequences include Jonah Hill getting possessed and a funny homage to The Exorcist aptly titled "The Exorcism of Jonah Hill" as well as Emma Watson (Hermoine of the Harry Potter flicks) doing her best to survive by robbing the main guys of all their food and water.
Lookout for cameos from Channing Tatum as a cannibal and (spoiler) The Backstreet Boys in a truly hilarious heaven sequence that sees Jay, Seth and Craig reuniting as angels after the three sacrificed themselves to save Earth.
A few parts of it do seem very off the cuff almost as though barely any scripting was used and Goldberg & Rogen (as directors) just let their friends be themselves only more exaggerated. It is fun and lets the near 2 hour run time feel blissfully short.
Well recommended, to be sure.
This review of This Is the End (2013) was written by Douglas C on 23 Aug 2014.
This Is the End has generally received positive reviews.
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