This is the End

It is far from surprising that This is the End presents a combination of the self-effacing and the self-indulgent, predicated as it is upon the opportunities and trappings of fame. As a result of their respective careers, a handful of friends, frequent co-stars and well-known actors gather to play fictionalised versions of themselves, their on-screen exaggerations heightened by extraordinary circumstances. That’s right: Seth Rogen (The Guilt Trip), James Franco (Spring Breakers), Jonah Hill (Django Unchained), Jay Baruchel (Goon), Craig Robinson (TV’s The Office), Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down) and more have parlayed their status into a film depicting what they might do if faced with the end of the world.

The idea originates from the 2007 short Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse, complete with a teaser that illustrated what a full-length version could become. Audience and industry interest saw Rogen and co-writer Evan Goldberg (The Watch) develop the concept as their first directorial project, enlisting colleagues from Rogen’s extensive work history with Judd Apatow (television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, as well as films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Funny People) and other assorted feature forays (Superbad and Pineapple Express among them) to satirise their prominence, livelihood, and a wealth of over-used sci-fi apocalyptic tropes.

The details are simple: Baruchel reluctantly arrives in Los Angeles to visit long-term pal Rogen, their weekend of leisurely bonding (read: drinking, drug taking, binging on junk food and blasting away at video games) complicated by their expected attendance at Franco’s lavish housewarming party. The incursions into their plans continue when the star-studded shindig ends with hellfire, devouring sinkholes and dead celebrities, a survival-of-the-fittest contest of juvenile acts and offensive gags soon testing the strength of their friendship.

This is the End can be perceived both as a good-natured example of mockery and mayhem that enables its cast – Michael Cera (Arrested Development) and Emma Watson (The Bling Ring) included – to eschew their standard screen personas, and as a cynical, self-satisfied exercise in cinematic vanity; either way, the feature is only an intermittent success. The spirited solidarity of the central group is evident in their willingness to project an alternate, amusing image that exploits the expected, as Franco acts pretentious and entitled, Hill’s serious credentials are skewered, and Cera abandons awkwardness for sleaziness. Alas, the inability to rein in the ridiculousness and rambunctiousness when needed smacks of unfettered excess.

Accordingly, the film falls somewhere in the middle, as does its entertainment value. Sometimes the outlandishness of profane banter, career parody and surprisingly creative genre parody works to fun and hilarious effect; sometimes the jokes get lost in easy puerility, narrative lethargy, lazy nostalgia and over-inflated self-importance. The extended running time does little to assuage the inconsistent momentum, nor does the evident lack of endings. One thing is certain: it takes more than camaraderie and called-in favours to sustain an enjoyable comedy from start to finish. This is the End certainly tries, but its outcome is as uneven as its motivation.

Rating: 2 ½ stars out of 5

This is the End

Directors: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen        

USA, 2013, 107 mins

Release date: 18 July

Distributor: Sony

Rated: MA