By the mighty James Connors from SouthWalesMassive.
Let me start off with a bold statement, one that might in fact make you wonder why I would have the audacity to even think about reviewing a film: a lot of comedies are ruined by too much plot.
Now before you instantly write me off, please give me this chance to explain. The most important reaction you should have while watching a comedy is laughter, pure and simple. I think there’s certainly room for character development and wonderful storytelling – if there wasn’t we wouldn’t have the amazing films of people like Wes Anderson, but not every film has that potential. Take, for example, ‘The Other Guys’ – the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg vehicle from a few years ago. With Adam McKay at the helm this should have been a riot, but instead we had a movie with fantastic gags spread too thin while it was trying too hard to tell you a story. There’s countless examples I’m sure you can think of, comedies where you only find yourself laughing from time to time due to having too much plot, and not enough jokes.
So why am I driving this point home, when I haven’t even mentioned the film you’re here to read about? Because ‘This Is The End’ is a film that has so little plot, it’s unbelievable. And who would have thought – that gives you plenty of space for non-stop hilarity.
After meeting Jay Baruchel at the airport, Seth Rogan takes his friend to James Franco’s house warming party, planning on a night to help Baruchel socialise within the LA set he has little good to say about. The next fifteen minutes are essentially opportunities to spot celebs you know from film and TV, while they put themselves into ridiculous, self mocking situations. Michael Cera in particular stands out, playing a role almost mirror opposite of his awkward teen characters that you’re used to. Naturally, you can’t keep that many people on screen for long, so a bit of plot kicks in and we’re down to the core ensemble, who are essentially fighting for their lives in the few moments they’re not ripping each other apart.
The key aspect to the comedy absolutely comes down to pretty much the whole cast playing themselves, saving us from pointless introductions and just throwing the audience straight into mix. From there, every few seconds there’s a snide remark about one of the group, all of whom are playing hyperbolic versions of themselves. Despite being at each others throats for most of the runtime, it’s evident that this is a group of people entirely comfortable around each other. Everyone is more than willing to take some absolute stingers, as their careers are mercilessly torn apart by their peers.
For the next hundred or so minutes, where most films would knuckle down and keep moving the story along, ‘This Is The End’ does so purely to tell more jokes. Why attempt to secure your property from the hordes of darkness when you could have a slanging match about how you intend to jizz all over James Franco’s house? No time to get supplies, it’s time for the cast to make home-brew sequels to their movie archive. If you need your films to be grounded and realistic, it might be about this point you’ll be realising this might not be the flick for you. Fans of Pineapple Express (which admittedly did pull off the jokes/plot thing pretty well), or Hot Tub Time Machine (which shares a cast member in Craig Robinson), should be pretty much on the right page however. Like all comedies, it either works for you or it doesn’t, and being such a meta piece will undoubtedly put off as many as it enthrals.
Watching ‘This Is The End’ doesn’t feel like you’re watching a film, it feels like you’re hanging out, cracking wise with good friends. In a way, it’s casual nature works against it as a cinematic experience, as this movie belongs in your lounge over cold beers with your own buds. It feels too social a movie to be kept in the quiet darkness of the multiplex, and you might find yourself trying to hold back howls of laughter. If dark, offensive humour intertwined with horror elements sounds like your kind of thing, you’re in for a treat.
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