The funniest film of the year so far.

Rating: 8/10 (29 July 2013)

Seth Rogen has always been the subject of debate when it comes to how funny his scripts and he actually are. There can be no argument, however, about the success of his latest comedy: This is the End. Written and directed by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who has worked with Seth on a number of projects such as Superbad, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up and Green Hornet, the latest film stars a number of high profile celebrities who are faced with an apocalypse after attending a house party hosted by James Franco.
The wage bill for this movie spared no expense with the inclusion of mega stars such as Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Emma Watson, Channing Tatum, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and pop star Rihanna who all play fictional versions of themselves. It seems to have paid off though given that in its first month it has grossed just shy of $80 million.
What makes up for the obvious flaws in this film is the fact that it does exactly what it intends to do which is make you laugh. There are some truly hilarious moments during This is the End for various reasons. Firstly, Michael Cera plays a drug fuelled version of himself that forces everyone at the party to hate him which is so different to the Michael Cera we all know. Then there's the spoof of the Exorcist, possibly the greatest horror film of all time. The re-enactment of the famous 'Power of Christ' scene is side splittingly funny due to the twist on words and implements used. What really makes the film work though is how everyone is willing to make a mockery of their career. Every actor's stereotypes are brought to the table and made into a joke. Seth Rogen is the man who plays the same role every time, Jonah Hill is America's 'sweetheart', James Franco has had indiscretions with high profile stars and it goes like this for the whole cast.
This is, by far, the funniest comedy of 2013 so far. It does use the type of comedy that certain people find boring these days given how over used it can be but with this scenario and the actors involved, it just works. You just have to accept This is the End for what it is: not a film with any depth to the story but a massive spoof involving many Hollywood stars that we love or hate.