This is the End Review
Pretty freaking funny.
It has been something of a golden period in movies for the last couple weeks. Man of Steel, the Internship, and Now You See Me I quite enjoyed, and even the Hangover Part 3 didn’t make my stomach churn. Now this film made me laugh my ass off, lulling me into a pleasant state of movie complacency with no danger at all of Hollywood using my lulled sense of movie danger to deliver a swift film kick straight to the groinal area.
What’s that on the horizon? Grown Ups 2? Better make sure my cup is positioned correctly.
So snide predictions aside, I really enjoyed this film. I am not a stoner and yet I still really enjoy Seth Rogen films (except Green Hornet, of course), which tells me his comedy transcends the drug humor that it is based on. If you have any kind of sense of humor you will laugh, if only at the self depreciation played at the expense of Hollywood stars. Showing celebrities as shallow, self indulgent, drug and alcohol addicted horrible people may just be terribly accurate but it’s also hilarious, especially when they all get a biblical comeuppance. 
I have to give massive props to all the stars of this film for being willing to play themselves so tongue-in-cheek, especially Channing Tatum and Michael Cera (George-Michael image courtesy of the TV Show T-Shirts). I will have to give them each a notch up when it comes time to review their next films (of course since Channing Tatum’s next film is White House Down, yet another terrorists-take-over-the-White-House movie, he is already deep in the red zone).
This movie was strange in that I couldn’t really decide which character I liked the best. I am a Seth Rogen (Superbad, Pineapple Express, Green Hornet) fan and he was great, and his co-protagonist Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder, Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up) was also great, but they were each occluded by the secondary characters. James Franco (Oz the Great and Powerful, Spider Man 2, 127 Hours) was awesome, Jonah Hill (Moneyball, Superbad, 21 Jump Street) was hilarious, and Craig Robinson (The Office, Peeples, Hot Tub Time Machine) was the perfect straight man. If I had to pick one it would have to be bad guy Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down, Your Highness, Up in the Air), who ended the movie in the coolest way possible for a bad guy.
I am not a terribly religious person, and if you are or are not I am not sure how you might take this movie. If you are very religious you might find the message of Armageddon to be a good thing and hopefully inspiring to the unbelievers. On the other hand you might be annoyed at the fairly loose requirements for getting into Heaven. If you are not religious the whole message may sit ill with you. However, I submit that in any of these cases you lack the sense of humor to enjoy the film regardless.
The story starts off with Jay Baruchel arriving in LA to visit with old friend Seth Rogen. They go to his place to spend the day smoking pot and playing video games. Seth cajoles Jay into attending a party at James Franco’s place. The party is everything you ever imagined shallow Hollywood types indulging in, plus 3. While the two are out buying smokes the rapture occurs, with all the good people lifted up into Heaven on blue beams of light while all the bad people (they never go so far as to use the word sinner) stay around and the world more or less blows up. They run back to the house to discover that no one at the party noticed. Apparently none of them were eligible for Heaven, as telling a statement as to what Seth Rogen and co-writer Evan Goldberg think about Hollywood as you can find.
A giant fire filled sinkhole opens up in the lawn and sucks most of the party guests down. Seth, Jay, James, Craig, and Johan barricade themselves in the house. Next morning they discover Danny was passed out in the bathtub when he wakes up and eats most of their food.
At that point it becomes Survivor: Satanic Apocalypse. There are some great moments as the crew has to figure out how to find food and water, do a lot more drugs, and deal with Hellish demons. At one point Emma Watson shows up looking super cute (I feel really creepy saying that, by the way. Last time I saw her she was Hermione in Harry Potter. Harry Potter, the Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn) but gets the wrong idea about the crew and steals all their water. They have to cast out Danny McBride after he abuses their water and food (he later shows up even more awesome that before). They discover that redemption is still possible, but it’s not quite as easy as saying sorry.
The stars.
Really, really funny. Two stars. I appreciate the self deprivation and social commentary. One star. Getting some of those stars to do what could readily be construed as not the most favorable roles image-wise must have taken some work. One star. The main characters are clearly real life friends, and the chemistry on the screen is palpable. One star. Pacing was excellent. Movie felt just long enough. One star. All the characters were great. One star. Overall a fun time. One star. Total: eight stars.
The black holes.
The whole Biblical message could put both groups off equally. One black hole. Rated R for language, concept, and swinging male demon meat while not throwing the heterosexual (and lesbian) audience members anything is another waste of potential. One black hole. Total: two black holes.
A grand total of six stars. Really fun, really worth seeing. If you happen to be a stoner I predict you will own a copy and find it even more hilarious when you indulge in your medicinal substances (“Ow my glaucoma!”). Date movie? Meh. If your girl is a stoner sure but honestly this is a dudes film. See it with your bros. Bathroom break? Nothing really stands out as being worthless. The argument leading up to Emma Watson leaving could be missed pretty readily, but it’s pretty funny nevertheless. Try to hurry.
Thanks for reading. I’m excited to see World War Z this weekend. Look for that review soon. I have a couple old films I never got around to reviewing I might do up this week. Follow me on Twitter @Nerdkungfu. If you have comments on this film or my review feel free to leave them here. If you have off topic questions or suggestions email them to [email protected]. Have a great day.
Dave
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