Note: This is my second review of This is the End. Here's my original review from 2013, written back when the film first released.
There’s a simple story that comes
with my first viewing of This is the End. I went into the theaters in a particularly
sour mood and came out with the biggest smile on my face. A film that can get rid of a bad attitude is
automatically a success, but This is the End goes a few steps above your
typical Seth Rogan stoner film. I
originally referred to such elevation as a trifecta of good cast, comedy, and
heart. Revisiting the film, however, has
given me better clarity as to This is the End’s true trifecta and why it
so effectively resonates with me.
MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ONWARD!
Trifecta Piece #1: Self-Parody
and Hollywood Satire
Every recognizable actor in This
Is the End plays a fictionalized version of themselves. Right from the start, Seth Rogen is called out
by fans and bothered by paparazzi as he waits at the airport for his friend—both
in real life and in the film—Jay Baruchel.
The film is a raunchy, stoner version of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad
World—an extravaganza of comedy actors along with some additional
popstars. There’s Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel,
Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Kevin Hart,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mindy Kaling, Michael Cera, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel,
Emma Watson, Rihanna, and a few other surprise appearances along the way. The comedy writes itself here as the actors
mingle as they might (more on that in a bit) in real life. One great scene has a stoned Seth Rogan and
his doting friend James Franco discuss making a ridiculous sequel to Pineapple
Express (which they end up filming as a hilarious, fake trailer).
The exaggeration of each actor’s
self-parody varies from mild to over-the-top.
Michael Cera, who is often typecast as the meek nice guy, plays a total
douchebag version of himself. In one
scene he blows coke into his Superbad co-star Christopher
Mintz-Plasse's face—much to the latter’s horror—causing the overly positive (yet
subtly pretentious) nice guy Jonah Hill to scold Cera as he tries sniffing some
residue coke in Mintz-Plasse’s mustache.
Now I like to believe this isn’t an actuate depiction of Cera in real
life (though with actors you can never be too sure), yet he and the other actors
doing a remarkable job selling it as their actual selves (Seth Rogan has it the
easiest since he’s been playing his real self since the mid-2000s).
Trifecta #2: A Stoner Rapture
and More Hollywood Satire
Trifecta #1 is already a solid selling
point for the film, and I would have been down for it being the entire film’s
main premise, but then This is the End gets to its second layer and main
selling point: The Apocalypse. The
film’s tone shifts when people surprisingly start getting beamed up in
LA and the world goes to literal Hell for those left behind. The film gets gruesome as it begins
overkilling the actors in an awesome black comedy fashion. Michael Cera gets impaled by a streetlamp
while looking for his cellphone, Kevin Hart starts kicking Aziz Ansari clinging
to him while trying to escape a huge sinkhole to Hell (dismembering Aziz’s
arm), etc. The surviving party members,
Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, James Franco, Jonah Hill and later
revealed Danny McBride hide out in Franco’s fortress-like house as the outside
world burns.
The situation sounds grim and
horrific, yet this is where the comedy really starts to roll. What do you get when you put a bunch of
stoner comedians into an apocalyptic situation?
Complete, hilarious mood dissonance.
The world is burning within the fires of Hell, yet Seth is more worried
about if Jay’s pissed off at him. A
helicopter explodes outside, yet Craig freaks out over a small cut on his
finger. A man gets decapitated before
their eyes, by a demon right outside, and the group decides it’s best to do
lots of drugs. There is this bizarre yet
sidesplitting running gag where Seth Rogan’s biggest fear is getting titty f***ed by rapists. There’s an absolutely stupid,
yet really funny argument between James and Danny about porno mags and
ejaculating as Seth stands by and is barely able to keep a straight face (the film's comedy was largely improvised). Oh, and then there’s the entire Emma Watson
scene, a moment that would be incredibly uncomfortable if it wasn’t so rich in hysterical
comedy gold. There are even a few horror
parodies thrown in the plot, such as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcism
of Jonah Hill, where Jonah becomes possessed by a demon yet still
talks in Hill’s nonchalant manner…but evilly!
Jay (in a makeshift priest getup
complete with a spatula cross): Jonah Hill? Jonah? Jonah Hill.
Demon Jonah: Jonah Hill is
no more. Jay, you fool.
Jay: I say unto thee, the
power of Christ compels you!
Demon Jonah: Oh, does it?
Does it compel me?
Jay: The power of Christ compels
you!
Demon Jonah: Does it, Jay? Is
the power of Christ compelling me? Is that what's happening? Guess what? It's
not that compelling.
Seth: Jay, you serious right
now? That's your plan? You're gonna repeat lines from The Exorcist?
Jay: I would assume they did
their research.
Seth: It's a movie!
Jay: It's a manual. It's a
training manual.
This is the End does not
hold back its punches towards Hollywood actors.
There are some ruthless jabs towards specific actors and their profession
in general. When the Rapture begins, no
one at Franco’s party is affected, and when they notice, the group become a
bunch of chickens; “We are actors! We pretend to be hard, man. Yeah. We soft as
baby s***.”
Jonah: A huge earthquake
happens. Who do they rescue first? Actors. Famous people. They'll get Clooney,
Sandra Bullock, me. If there's room, you guys'll come.
The group is so self-absorbed,
they can’t comprehend why they were left behind on Earth:
James: Guys, I think this is
sort of bull****, because we're all good people. I can look at each one of you
in the eye, I know you're good. We're four actors. We bring joy to people's
lives
Seth: I think God might have
just f***ed up, made a mistake, and left us behind by accident. I mean, He's
got a lot of s*** on His plate.
There are two different points
where Danny straight up roasts the other surviving actors:
Danny: Seth, that's a better
performance than you've given in your last six movies. Where the f*** was that
in Green Hornet, huh? Jonah, you're
f***ing sucking balls. You're an Academy Award-nominated person. You need to be
f***ing selling that s***, dude.
Trifecta #3: A Human Heart
and…Possible Hollywood Satire?
At This is the End’s core is
a human heart, mainly the friendship between Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel—old
friends who have grown distance since becoming Hollywood celebrities. Jay is a relatable character within the sea of
Hollywood actors—an introvert not really into the LA lifestyle (whereas Seth
has embraced it) and feels out-of-place at Franco’s party. I’m once again uncertain how much here is
truth in fiction, but the duo effectively sell it as a conflict that could have
happened, or did happen, in reality. The
film has some genuine moments of the “actors” getting real—mostly between Seth
and Jay, but also with Craig who ends up being the film’s surprise tritagonist. In one scene, Jay suggests to Craig about
leaving the group:
Jay: What are we going back
for? In theory, we could just stay here.
Craig: All I know is I'm
scared as hell, and I just want to get back to our friends.
Jay: Yeah, but they're not
my friends.
Craig: Seth is your friend.
Jay: We've been growing
apart for years. That's why I didn't stay with him last time I was here. And I
stayed with him this time to try and salvage it, but clearly, that didn't work
out.
Craig: Jay, like it or not,
those a**holes are all we got.
Craig develops and grows over the
film, becoming more selfless and guilt-ridden over past actions. There’s a scene where the group talks about
their past sins with surprise seriousness, almost as if the actors themselves
are confessing (Franco’s confession about rape by deception is definitely a
crime that could have happened in reality.).
The genuine character moments create a connection with…some of
these self-absorbed stoners (namely Seth, Jay, and Craig) and generate actual tension in a finale that does not deserve to be as epic as it is.
The cherry on top is the surprise
Backstreet Boys appearance, singing Backstreet’s Back during the film’s
heavenly finale. Not everyone will think
this is the perfect ending, and they’re entitled to their opinion even if it’s
wrong. This is the End is a
trifecta of good elements that end up making a great comedy. A stoner rapture featuring self-parodies in a
Hollywood satire with a human heart at its core. This is the End is hilarious fun, highly
entertaining, and genuinely pleasant for how raunchy it can get. I stand by that it is the best comedy of 2013
and add on that it’s one of the decade’s best comedies.
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