The Pits of Hell -- or Just Another Weekend in Hollywood

Rating: 7/10 (4 December 2013)

Whether or not you think "This Is the End" is funny will depend almost completely on whether or not you think Seth Rogen and the scruffy, schlubby circle of actors he's become associated with are funny. Because this movie exists as nothing more than an excuse for these guys to roast each other, playing exaggerated versions of themselves in a movie about the end of the world -- or at least the end of L.A.
I was afraid the film would feel like an inside joke that I was not in on and that it would be two hours of watching a bunch of guys who think they're cuter than we do -- kind of like a Youtube video with better production values. But that's not the case -- these guys really are pretty funny, and there's enough of an actual story to make the film more than a random assortment of one-liners.
Of all of them I like Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel the most, and they both mostly play straight man to the others. Michael Cera is hilarious in what amounts to a prolonged cameo, and Emma Watson gets a laugh as a homicidal, axe-wielding Hermione.
Grade: B+