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This is the End

Film & TV

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The tag line for This is the End warns of “strong crude humour, coarse language, sexual references, comedic violence, nudity and drug use”. That’s a pretty good summation of this new offering from Seth Rogen and friends, which certainly isn’t a plot-driven film.

Featuring a who’s who of comedy royalty, the main line up includes Rogen, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson and Michael Cera playing themselves. Well, sort of. The actors, along with a plethora of cameos from Hollywood heavyweights including Rhianna, play fictionalised versions of themselves which verge on the comically ridiculous.

The premise of this story is that nothing ruins a good party like an apocalypse. Best friends  Baruchel and Rogan are attending a party at Franco’s house when bizarre and terrifying events start to occur. At first it appears there’s been an earthquake, but people don’t usually get zapped up into the sky in beams of blue light during earthquakes, do they?

The group are trapped in the house as the world outside unravels, with dwindling supplies, cabin fever and demon possession threatening to tear apart their lifelong friendships. It’s not long before the boys realise the apocalypse is upon them, and only the worthy have been saved. So why have they been left behind, and how can they redeem themselves?

Those familiar with previous collaborations Superbad and Pineapple Express will have an idea what to expect. Disappointingly, this loosely written horror-comedy doesn’t reach the same heights as these earlier projects. Overall, This is the End is a self-indulgent buddy movie in which doing lots of drugs, ejaculation jokes, an exorcism and kicking a decapitated head around like a soccer ball are par for the cause.

There certainly are very funny bits, especially if you like “blokey” humour, but the self-referential humour grates after a while. The target audience seems to be boys and men, so perhaps they’ll get more out of it. Otherwise, wait for the DVD.

 

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