Directed by: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill
Rated R, 107 minutes
“This Is the End” shouldn’t be the best movie of the year so far, but it is. Somehow the latest Seth Rogen and Co. stoner flick not only bears an important moral message, but it manages to do so without ever asserting its moral message as important. Maybe that’s why it works so well - what better way to discuss the moral disintegration of mankind in the wake of the apocalypse than with jokes?
And quite a funny apocalypse it is here. Jay Baruchel (“How to Train Your Dragon”), visiting his good friend Seth Rogen (“Pineapple Express”), gets dragged along to a big Hollywood party at James Franco’s (“127 Hours”) mansion. The party, a veritable who’s-who of movie biz, is interrupted by an earthquake, which is followed by a giant sinkhole forming and swallowing up most of the guests. When all is said and done, six hungry, thirsty, and stoned guys are left standing, including Jay, Seth, and James, as well as Jay’s perceived nemesis, Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”), Craig Robinson (TV’s “The Office”), and Danny McBride (“Pineapple Express”).
So, what’s a group of Hollywood actors to do while they’re holed up in a mansion waiting for help? Priorities include divvying up the food and water, figuring out what’s happening outside, and making short video confessionals for posterity’s sake. Jay, feeling like an outsider among the others, thinks he knows what’s going on – namely, that the apocalypse, as described in the Book of Revelations, has arrived. But he might be too much of an outsider, too alienated from the others, to save them – or himself.
The unabashedly campy premise, the group of celebrities playing depraved versions of themselves while they wait out the end of days, seems straight out of a Vonnegut novel (and I mean that in the best way possible). Reaching a conclusion that is neither arbitrary nor predictable, and getting there through intense but natural character development, “This Is the End” is, I think, a testament to the hidden sophistication in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s (“Superbad”) sense of humor.
That isn’t to say it’s not hidden well – the movie’s moral core is submerged in layer upon layer of raunchy jokes, cynicism, and graphic incidents of various natures. The apocalypse is not for the faint of heart. But there is a clear message here – we have to be kind to one another, even in the most strained of circumstances. And even if the last third of the movie plays out mechanically as the characters realize that this message will be their only salvation, “This Is the End” never lapses into PSA territory. Goldberg and Rogen stick firmly to the idea that the most convincing messages are embodied in relatable characters. While these characters go over the top when it comes to any of the cardinal sins, they are all starkly honest, and therefore relatable.
For the most part, the actors play themselves without pretension or any reservations, all of which makes the movie great fun to watch. Danny McBride and Jonah Hill prove themselves gloriously capable of self-mockery, while Craig Robinson and James Franco come across as flawed but sympathetic, selfish but likable. Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel, our leads, aren’t particularly strong actors, although they match the others’ antics adequately, so we can forgive a little blandness.
Meanwhile, an enormous procession of celebrity cameos irreverently reminds us that actors are people too, and often much worse. In particular, appearances by Michael Cera (TV’s “Arrested Development”) and Emma Watson (the “Harry Potter” franchise) are alarmingly funny and unexpected, to say nothing of cameos by Rihanna, Channing Tatum, Mindy Kaling, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Aziz Ansari, and others.
Having such a star-heavy cast in this sort of ensemble story leaves us with an interesting notion – that, contrary to what the characters tell themselves, no one actually cares about celebrities, especially not during the apocalypse. “This Is the End” warns us against self-imporant thinking, and if you choose to take the movie seriously, this is stern counsel in a modern era that desperately needs to listen and repent.
But then, this movie isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s perfectly good fun to see “This Is the End” simply as a 107-minute-long joke at all of humankind’s expense. The time for true repentance is later, rather than sooner.
Originally published in The Harvard Press on 6/21/13.