This Is the End

Sometimes, when there’s a camaraderie between certain actors, they’ll get together and make a movie just as an excuse to work together. This Is the End is pretty obviously one of those. They didn’t even bother to create any fictional characters, and literally just threw themselves into an apocalyptic scenario. But while some films that are only made so the stars can hang out are only fun for the cast and don't result in much of a movie, this one actually is some fun to watch.

The film brings us to house party attended by several of Hollywood’s big names (here’s the full list), when an unexplained cataclysm suddenly hits, killing most of the attendees and leaving greater Los Angeles in ruins. Six survivors—Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride, all playing exaggerated incarnations of themselves—hole up inside the mansion while the outside world becomes a burning wasteland overrun by terrible creatures. As the time passes and strange things start to happen, it dawns on the group that the Biblical Rapture might be upon them.

The movie stays afloat because of the strength of its stars. For all the crazy circumstances and supernatural happenings, much of the humor comes from the hilarious, very dirty back-and-forth between the cast, as their camaraderie turns to combativeness as their situation gets worse and worse. The six main stars act out the personas fans will recognize from their previous work (if you’re not a fan of these actors, well then, this movie isn’t for you), while others who cameo have fun sending up their images. My pick for most surprising: poor, poor Channing Tatum.

That’s not to say, however, that the movie doesn’t take advantage of its supernatural storyline to offer some more outrageous gags. There is some surprising comedic gore, which even the biggest stars in the picture aren’t safe from, and the parodies of horror films, both general tropes and specific titles, are very funny. One scene spoofing Rosemary’s Baby is actually a little creepy, though still played out with humor. And, of course, the cast rather self-indulgently references their past movies, though they are at least self-aware enough to make fun of the bad ones.

The film keeps us laughing, at least for a while. By about the 90-minute mark, the profane banter becomes stale, and things get a little too creature-happy (the ending isn’t very satisfying, either, but this didn’t bother me because I was ready for the thing to be done by then). There’s also a bit of an overload of penis jokes; the first one or two are funny, but the movie has a slight obsession with phallic imagery that comes off as rather immature, even by its lowbrow standards.

It works best if you don’t think about it too much. This one's not nearly as good as some of the fully fictional comedies this cast has made, but everyone onscreen is clearly having a good time. Just go along with it, and so will you.