So Funny It Hurts!!

Rating: 9/10 (19 June 2013)

"This Is The End" is the directorial debut of screen writing duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who also brought us "Superbad" and "Pineapple Express," and to be honest, this is their crowning achievement. This movie primarily focuses on a group of comedians trapped in James Franco's house during the apocalypse. Aside from having a great premise as it is, the film's main draw is the fact that all these actors are playing exaggerated versions of themselves, which becomes the basis for some truly laugh-out-loud moments. For the most part, the script is fairly loosely written, which leaves a lot of room for improvisation by the actors. Those improvised sequences are where the film shines, because it creates a sense of camaraderie among the actors which adds a lot to the enjoyment factor. You get a sense that all of these guys are really good buddies just having a good time making this movie, and that's something the film captures really nicely. But above all else, the movie is just plain funny. It is quite often very sophomoric and juvenile, but it never insults the audience's intelligence. For me, every single joke hit hard and made me laugh to a point where my face began to ache! Movies don't get much funnier than this, and the credit really goes to the cast for making this premise work so well. Towards the middle of the film, it starts to feel like it drags, but it picks right up again towards the end that I don't mind. I easily could watch this movie 10 more times, and laugh every single time. I can't recommend this movie enough, I loved "This Is the End."