The Funniest Comedy in an Awfully Long Time

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2013)

"This is the End" is one of those films that you'd expect to be funny, and somehow exceeds your expectations in ways you never imagined was possible. A movie that leaves you laughing so hard, your literally gasping for air. A movie you will quote for years, watch repeatedly and instantly refer to as one of your favorite movies. Believe it or not, "This is the End" is THAT good. Its the Seth Rogen movie audiences have been waiting for since "Pineapple Express", and the funniest one since "Superbad". In this day and age, its hard to make a comedy this memorable, since time and time again, the same jokes get recycled. But when you get out of the fictitious/formulaic/gross-out realm of comedy these days, there is an entirely different spectrum most comedies neglect. Satire. "This is the End" is a comedy based on comedies. Never before has a comedy been this self aware of what it is, and rarely do actors ever be themselves just for the sake of laughs. In this case, it really does work. Every actor in the film plays a satirical version of his or herself. Seth Rogen is the pothead, Danny McBride is the creep, James Franco is the poser, Jonah Hill is the fake guy, Jay Baruchel is the shy one and Craig Robinson is the token black friend. They play their stereotypes to their advantage, and the fact that they are aware makes room for even more laughs. This holds true for the rest of the cast of comedic cameos, all except for Michael Cera. There's sort of a hilarious surprise with Michael Cera, but I don't want to ruin it in this review.
Not only does the film work as a comedy, it also surprisingly works as a horror movie. There are plenty of jump scares and thrilling showdowns that awry during the course of this faux-apocalypse that will leave you on the edge of your seat and eagerly cackling with joy.
There isn't much I want to discuss anymore, because a movie like this is better off seen to be believed. What can I say? Sit back, relax and get ready to laugh your ass off.