This is the End Review

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2013)

"This is the End" is a movie based on a short story titled "Seth and Jay vs. the Apocalypse" that one can only assume was concocted under the influence of sensory enlightening drugs. The story involves a group of comedy stars who play themselves as they attempt to survive the sudden onset ofuhoh who cares? As long as we understand that some threat has forced guys such as Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, etc. to barricade themselves within Franco's new mansion. This of course provides the majority of the comedy fodder.
The actors all play cinematic versions of themselves which I believe provides a comedic charm for "This is the End." Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg loosely wrote the screenplay, forcing the actors to improvise a good majority of their dialogue. This functions splendidly in that it allows for guys like McBride and Rogen to fulfill their normal on-screen personalities. And have no fear, the raunchy vulgarity comes full force in a series of scenes involving characters forced to confront each other in hilariously crude arguments.
What makes the movie's vulgarity funny and not offensive is that it is motivated vulgarity rather than vulgarity for its own sake. Consider the situation of the characters. They've locked themselves inside a house with limited supplies. Their arguments revolve around their surviving this unknown threat that has attacked the world. Their jokes and jibes come in the context of survival, in which they would say or do anything to avoid their death, or I suppose damnation in this case. It is crudeness with purpose and reason behind it.
For much of the film the characters are isolated from the world, in fact the only evidence of the apocalypse we view is reduced to snippets of Los Angeles on fire. But Rogen and Goldberg realize the strength of their script lies not so much in story or plot so much as its characters and their interactions with each other, hence much of what we see focuses on the characters in isolation with each other, in which they claw at each other's throats through crude mockery. Fortunately, there is just enough of both story and plot, which is the key to any successful raunchy comedy. Who cares about the strength of the story in a movie that does not require an intricate plot? As long as some form of backbone exists within the movie to carry the gags, the entertainment factor is there. Much credit for the film I believe goes to its actors, who each deliver performances that deprecate themselves and each other to the point of hilarity, where we overlook perceived flaws involving the mechanics of the movie.