One of the funniest comedies of the past several years, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg own the summer with their directorial debut in This Is the End.

I am a big fan of Seth Rogen and his partner Evan Goldberg.  Responsible for the films Superbad (writers) and 50/50 (producers) they have proven to embrace both crude comedy and heartfelt drama in the past (Also  responsible for The Green Hornet and The Watch, the former being underwhelming and the latter underrated). Here they decide to go all the way with the crude humor, and thank God they do, as this movie is non-stop hilarity from beginning to end.

 

Rogen and Goldberg are very ambitious in this movie, going meta in a big way.  Every actor plays him or herself in a Biblical Apocalyptic fantasy.  Think Left Behind with real actors and written as an intentional comedy.  The main stars of this film are Rogen and Jay Baruchel, who have drifted apart when Rogen embraces the LA lifestyle that Jay despises.  After an afternoon smoking a ton of marijuana and playing video games, Rogen tries to expand Jay’s world by inviting him to a Hollywood party.  Despite his protestations, Jay follows Rogen to James Franco’s house for a raging party of debauchery.  While getting some cigarettes as an excuse to treat Jay’s social anxiety, the Apocalypse begins as several do-gooders are taken up to Heaven, but everybody at Franco’s party is left behind.  The ground opens up and most of the party falls straight into the pits of hell, leaving Rogen, Franco, Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride to spend the rest of the movie trying to survive…in the most hilarious ways possible.

 

Having every actor play themselves could be a gimmick in less capable hands, but it works brilliantly here.  There are also many cameos here, with Michael Cera and Emma Watson shining.  There are many others, but I won’t get into them because I do not want to spoil the movie (Cera and Watson are both in the trailer, so I think I’m safe there.)  The actors either play exaggerations of their public personas, or play it completely opposite.  In every case it works perfectly.

 

I’d love to go over all the hilarious scenes in this movie, but I really don’t want to give away much at all.  Just know that the humor is very crude and juvenile, but in the best ways possible.  The special effects here are even passable, although certainly not necessary.  Rogen and Goldberg put together an instant classic and I cannot wait for their follow-up.

 

Conclusion [10 out of 10]

This movie is not for everyone.  As I said, it is very crude, so if that isn’t your cup of tea then this movie is certainly not for you.  If you don’t mind a lot of dick jokes, profanity and drug references, you owe yourself to see this movie, and quickly.  Trust me…you want to see it before some other asshole not as nice as me spoils all the best jokes for you.