Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 8/10 (17 September 2013)

This is the End is a comedy movie that gathers some of the biggest names in modern comedy in an unusual set-up. All of the actors play themselves (or better, the somewhat alternative versions of themselves) while they're trying to survive in an end of the world scenario. Initially, when I heard of this movie and its premise, I thought this would be yet another lame stoner comedy (with the exception of a good cast). But, fortunately, I was wrong. The movie's main character/actor is Jay Baruchel, who visits his old friend Seth Rogen in Los Angeles. Jay doesn't like the LA lifestyle and just wants to spend a quiet weekend with Seth smoking pot, playing video games and slacking off. However, Seth wants the both of them to go to James Franco's housewarming party. Jay reluctantly accepts Seth's offer. At the party, the two of them meet some of their old acquaintances (James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robertson) and also see some other stars enjoying themselves (like Rihanna, Emma Watson, Michael Cera). Seth seems to have a good time at the party while Jay is bored. Eventually, natural disasters start occurring, breaking the party, killing a bunch of party guests and leaving only six men in the safety of James Franco's house  Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robertson, Jonah Hill, James Franco and Danny McBride. The thing that caught me by surprise the most in This is the End was that Jay Baruchel is the movie's protagonist. It was a risky choice to give the main role to the, arguably, least known actor of the bunch. Nevertheless, that turned out to be really a good decision, since Jay has a quite decent acting range and managed to carry the movie even when it was exploring some issues outside the realms of comedy. Speaking of this issues, This is the End is much more than a brain-dead comedy. It also deals with topics like social relationships, human nature in friendships and the course of growing apart from someone you hold dear. Of course, none of this makes This is the End a particularly intelligent movie but it does, however, elevate the movie above your average everyday modern comedy. Still, writing about all of this is getting me a little aside from the main argument  the movie's humour. After all, what is a comedy without its humour? The humour in This is the End is rather good, I found myself laughing quite a few times. A large portion of the dialogue in the movie was ad-libbed, which was great, since the majority of the actors in the movie are experienced comedians and this way they managed to show off their skills. All in all, This is the End is worth watching, and not for the laugh value alone. The only bad thing I can say about this movie is that towards the end it gets a little too cheesy and predictable, but I'm pretty sure some people will consider this discontent as pure nitpicking. Either way, I think it's safe to say that This is the End is a movie that will satisfy many and disappoint only a rare few. Rating: 8/10