The Case for Happy Endings

I laughed quite a bit in This Is The End, the new “gross out” comedy from the minds and actors that brought us films like The Pineapple Express and Superbad and other fairly stupid movies that are good for a guffaw.

Its not that the film shone with intellectually stimulating gags or witty puns.  Mostly, there was lots of laddish talk of smoking weed and getting it on (or not as the case may be), and, considering that is what I expected from the outset, the film met my fairly lazy criteria. 

The basic plot is: the actors are all playing themselves (kind of), and Seth Rogan (always awesome) and Jay Baruchel go (reluctantly in Jay’s part) to a big party at James Franco’s new place, rubbing shoulders (and other things) with Rhianna, an unhinged Michael Cera, Emma Watson, and a whole lot of other familiar faces.  Well, for a little while anyway.  Until the end of the world comes to Hollywood. 

What follows from there on is… well, a continuation of the jokes that came before really, just with a sense more urgency and with a dwindling number of house guests.  The remaining characters get more and more mental, with Jonah Hill’s take on himself as a guy so nice it borders on the insane.  Emma Watson shows up now and again, though her character seems an odd mix of high class, do no nothing girl and... well, what is she really doing in the film?

As much as the story is almost non existent and the jokes puerile, it all seems to work, mainly as the characters/actors involved are completely at home making fun of themselves and they do it all so well.  It's not mean spirited... well, it is actually, but everyone about whom it is mean spirited seems to be in on the joke and happy to go along with it. 

There are major fluctuations in tone and style and pace that hint that this is more a labour of love than a labour of work, but as long as these kinds of things are not any of the reasons you went to see the film for (and really, they shouldn't be), then you won't be disappointed.  Well, you might, but you should be expecting that from the get go.

Verdict: This in the End is the type of movie that already has someone drawing a big d!ck over the poster, because it is a load of cobblers.  But its aimiable rubbish, acted by guys used to mocking themselves and using the basest of slacker humour at its best... or at least, its most easily digestable.  And the number of cameos (and some of their nature) are pretty impressive too.  6 hell fire and damnations out of 10.