Funny as Hell

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2013)

When I saw the first trailer for This is the End I knew this was going to be great and a movie for me. Seth Rogan and James Franco did not disappoint. This was the best movie I have seen all year by far. The plot is basic but the end result is hysterical. Seth Rogan, James Franco, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Jay Baruchel are trying to survive the apocalypse in the home of James Franco. The twist is that the actors are playing themselves and that gimmick worked better than I could have imagined.
Before seeing this movie I had my honest worries. When a big group of celebrities come together for a movie like this one of two things can happen. One, it will be a huge success and a comedic masterpiece, or two, there will be way too many stars and it will be a mess like Movie 43. Luckily almost everything in this movie worked. The constant movie references were perfect for a movie lover like me. I am a big fan of these actors and their movies. I wasn't a huge fan of Pineapple Express but I loved Freaks and Geeks. The constant posters and actors of Freaks and Geeks in the background were subtly hilarious. I was also a little worried about some of the characters but each of them worked and was funny in their own way.
In the beginning of the movie Jonah Hill was kind of annoying. With the introduction of his character I was afraid of something I like to call the Grown Ups affect. Meaning, the writers make that one guy who isn't funny on purpose like they did with Rob Schneider. Jonah Hill was annoying and at first I didn't like his character but he grew on me and grew on me and he was a star in the movie. Danny McBride was the hero of this movie however. Danny McBride is so good at what he does. He played the same character in this movie as he does in every other accept its better. He is a jerk but he is such a funny jerk. His first scene is hysterical where he cooks all the food and rips apart all the other actors. He and Franco have great scenes and the scene with the gimp almost had me on the floor crying with laughter. Danny McBride was easily my favorite character but picking out a favorite scene was impossible.
At first my favorite scene was with Michael Cera. His scenes with him on coke were too funny for film. This was the first role I liked Michael Cera in. If you know me then you know I don't like Michael Cera but everything he did in the move was solid gold. Even his blazer was funny. He was beyond satisfying and whoever came up with the idea of him on coke deserves an Oscar. My favorite scene turned into Danny McBride eating the food, then the scene with Emma Watson, then the sequel to Pineapple Express, then the gimp, and so on. In the end I can't choose a favorite scene. Everything in this movie worked and it had a good story to back it up.
The story was basic but carried out perfectly. The movie was in James Franco's house for most of the movie and that was perfect. Having the main characters going thru the city, running into other actors with pointless cameos would have been a disaster. There were many cameos in the movie but none of them were too much to handle. Rhianna Aziz Anzari, Paul Rudd, Channing Tatum Martin Starr, and so many others had just enough screen time to be funny and not take the focus off the main characters. A few references went over my head because I didn't know all the material Seth Rogan could have drew from but I got most of it. The friction between Jay and the rest of the group was a well written conflict added to the story and the characters were done well enough to get an emotional connection to. From the start the movie was funny. Jay and Seth have a weird conversation about glutton and it was so simple but funny. The writing in this movie had Seth Rogan's name all over it. He is such a good writer and he knows how to write a funny script. The random conversations from a milky way bar to the best way to drive in the Hollywood hills the writing in this movie was like no other. The words were more funny then the actions. Franco carries around a prop gun and the scene when they are passing it around and Jonah pretends to shoot was hysterical but not as funny as Jonah Hill praying to God to kill Jay. The writing reminded me of Tarantino's writing and everybody knows I idolize him. Overall, I feel like This is the End was made for me. It is a movie I always wanted made. I always thought it would be a good idea to have a movie where actors play themselves and even though they played exaggerated versions of themselves it still worked. This is the funniest movie I have seen in a long time and is probably in my top 5 favorite comedies. The writing was brilliant, the actors were funny, the scenes were memorable, the lines are quotable, and the movie itself was all around great. I will but this on blu ray the day it is released and I will watch it again and again. I will admit that this movie is not for everybody and I understand if you did not like it. Fans of Seth Rogan and his comedy will love this movie. This is the End easily gets the WillyT Comedic Crest, which is the highest rating for a comedy, and obviously gets the WillyT Seal of Approval.