Over the top, and then some

Rating: 6/10 (30 May 2020)

"This Is The End" is indicative of how ubiquitous Christian eschatology has become in modern times: The film was written, directed and co-produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their directorial debuts. The thing is, both Rogen and Goldberg are Jews; and Jewish doctrine specifically rejects the entire New Testament, including the Book of Revelations. The film is a feature-length adaptation of the short "Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse" (2007), Jay being Jay Baruchel; and even Baruchel, who is Christian, nevertheless has a Sephardic Jewish grandfather. Not to mention yet another Jew in the cast, Jonah Hill.
This is very much a guy movie, starring (more of less) Baruchel and co-starring James Franco, Rogen, Hill, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson, with brief appearances by various other well-known male actors, and two women, Rihanna, who is present almost as an afterthought, and Emma Watson, who comes and goes with dismaying rapidity. She wields a fire-axe very effectively and treats us to four-letter words that Hermione Granger never said.
The film centers on fictionalized versions of its cast members in the wake of a global biblical apocalypse. Jay Baruchel flies into LAX from Toronto and is met by his old pal Seth Rogen. They spend the afternoon at Seth's house, in as dissolute a manner as is possible for two straight guys who never leave the living room. In the evening, Seth takes Jay to a party at James Franco's house. It's the sort of raucous uncivilized bedlam you associate with fraternities like Delta House; and in fact, there is more than a little of an "Animal House" vibe to the proceedings. Without warning, the Apocalypse supervenes. Los Angeles goes down in flames, enormous sinkholes leading to Hell appear on people's front lawns, and lots of people magically ascend to heaven on beams of blue light. So what do you think these guys do? Why, it's the opportunity of a lifetime (literally) to let out their inner children - all of whom seem to be petulant 8-year-olds intent on spending Judgment Day behaving like booze-soaked, weed-choked, self-involved, callous, every-man-for-himself cavemen, only now freed of all inhibitions. When the alcohol and drugs run out, food and water get low, the fires get closer, and hellhounds lurk outside the house, these dimwits try to pull together and defend themselves, but they're no better at that than they are at acting their age.
This film is meant to be a satire, or maybe just lead-pipe funny, and it is; and the second half of the film, when the guys are trapped in Franco's house, is supposed to be overdone; but by about the 80-minute mark of the movie's 107-minute running time, their antics were wearing pretty thin. At 90 minutes, I had to force myself to keep watching, because I figured there'd be a wow finish, and there is. The film would benefit from cutting at least 10 minutes from its current length. But that's just me. If you're a member of the target demographic - which I'm guessing is 12-15-year-old boys - you'll probably enjoy the whole thing.