This Is the End

This is the End  is simply an awesome black comedy/disaster flick that crosses the line twice and then some ("the line" meaning the audience's acceptance of what's funny against what they find offensive).  Its ensemble cast stars Seth Rogen (who also directed and and produced the film), James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson, all playing fictionalized versions of themselves in the aftermath of a global apocalypse of Biblical proportions.

When I say this film is a black comedy, it is a black comedy - one that draws its humor by exploiting taboo subjects .  This film tackles such subjects as cannibalism, masturbation, death, demon possession and hilariously over-the-top violence to full effect, almost shocking the viewer with its unabashed comedy.  One of the best scenes in the flick includes (a rather unpleasant) Jonah Hill being possessed of a by a (rather awful) demon (Hint: the sequence includes projectile vomit, numerous The Exorcist references and a man on fire).  Somehow, Jonah's pleasant demeanor and naturally awkward movements are twisted and convoluted by the demon, with the end result of him smashing his way about James Franco's mansion being strangely hilarious. That said, this film is definitely not for everyone, especially those squeamish or easily offended.  However, if you believe that you can stomach the horrors of Armageddon, one would find this movie to be one of the funniest films in years.

The plot is surprisingly interesting and, in all honesty, rather horrifying.  The sheer idea of the end of the world is scary enough, but the effect, at least on this reviewer, was rather humbling.  Our preconceived perceptions of normality are destroyed 20 minutes into the movie, and it is this nervous energy instilled in the viewer that helps perpetuate the film's comedic edge.  After a rather normal comedic intro (Baruchel and Rogen meet up, smoke weed, get Carlos Jr., and head to Franco's party), their trip to a convenience store during the party goes horribly awry when the store's other customers get sucked up into the sky by a blue light and the cashier is smashed by a falling air duct.  The sheer image of a Los Angeles quickly descending into literal Hell is actually quite shocking.  Fires break out, streetlights have a mind of their own, sinkholes appear out of nowhere and demons begin to appear out of the darkness.  When the pair somehow make it back to Franco's, there is a breath of normality, which is quickly destroyed by the ensuing scene where some of Hollywood's favorites are killed off in unsettling and gruesome ways.  The idea that not even our celebrities are safe easily destroys the audience's comfort level, and actually creates a fair bit of internal drama - the viewer realizes that no one, not Franco, not Rogen, is safe in this movie.  Without giving up any spoilers, it is this idea and how it is dealt with which drives the humor of this flick.  

In the end, This is the End is a movie that speaks much better for itself than I ever could.  It is a solid flick that contorts our normal conventions of buddy/ensemble movies in a way both groundbreaking and, sometimes, disturbing.  For being billed as a comedy, it surprisingly has clear influences from horror, and even tackles the Lovecraftian subgenre (in which the protagonists of the plot deal with unimaginable almighty beings/ events that are completely out of their control).  Despite the horror influence, I believe This is the End to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.  Yes, it's distasteful; yes, I believe I may have scarred my parents for life when they watched it with me; but, gosh darn, what a fantastic dark comedy.

4.5 out of 5 stars.