"This Is the End" Makes the Apocalypse a Very Funny Thing

Written and directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, based on the short film by Jason Stone, starring Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Danny McBride, and Jonah Hill - Rated R

The Kurgan loved it, but he thinks all end of the world movies are funny...

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewing comedies isn’t really my thing these days, but I do make exceptions for interesting comedies.  This Is the End is, at the very least, an interesting film.  End is unique not because it boasts a who’s who from comedic films of the last decade; it is different because all of the actors are playing themselves (sort of).  The fact that this is the most anticipated comedy of the year for me (and others, I assume) says something about our obsession with celebrity.  Is it an easy laugh to just have Seth Rogen play himself and riff on his past successes and failures to a knowing audience?  Yeah, but it’s still a laugh.  In a world filled with Kardashians and Real Housewives, I don’t think it’s all that terrible to use celebrity for comedy.  At least these people are doing it intentionally.  I was laughing with the guys of This Is the End; whenever I am forced to watch the other type of “celebrities,” I’m laughing at them.

 

Celebrity aside, This Is the End takes a familiar premise, the end of the world, and plays it for laughs.  It only makes sense that we’ve come to this.  There are so many hyper-serious end of the world movies out there.  Isn’t it time we laugh about it?  And honestly, who hasn’t had the conversation with their friends about what they would do if the world ended or how (zombies, rapture, aliens?) they wish it would end?  For anyone who has thought or talked about the end of the world, or needs a break from the bleakness of films like The Road, this film is for you.

 

As with all comedies, though, it all comes down to whether or not you like the actors.  I don’t want to spoil all of the cameos (although most surprises have been shown in previews), but there should be something for nearly everyone in this film.  That said, the main players are Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and Jonah Hill.  Most people enjoy most if not all of these actors, but some might be put off by a few of them. 

 

What’s great about End is that you might like it even if you hate some of these guys.  This is a very aware movie.  Rogen comments that some people find his laugh annoying; Franco is called out for his perceived pretentiousness, etc.  Once again, these are easy laughs, but laughs nonetheless. 

 

The only issue some may have with the film is the amount of references to other works.  It’s not required that you see everything else these guys have done, but it certainly helps.  I’m a big fan of most of these actors, so I was able to pick up on references to Freaks and Geeks, Eastbound & Down, Your Highness, and Pineapple Express, to name a few.  I would say the closest thing to required viewing is Pineapple Express.  The majority of that cast is in this film, and they even film a homemade sequel to it within the film.  You might not find that sequence funny if you have no clue what they’re referencing. 

 

This Is the End is mainly about the apocalypse, though.  While it is filled with outlandish laughs, there is still the very serious threat of death and eternal damnation throughout the film.  If there is a message behind it, it’s about friendship and being a good person (which are lacking qualities among the cast of this film, apparently).  This is hardly a message film, but at least there’s a little something there. 

 

No one is going to this movie to learn about being a good person or friend.  This movie is all about the laughs.  I loved it, but as I like to point out, my sense of humor might be (and usually is) different from the general population’s.  Perhaps the main two things to keep in mind if you’re on the fence about this movie are that it’s rated R and the cast is almost exclusively male.  Some people don’t take the R rating all that seriously, but they should.  This is certainly not a comedy for children.  It’s not a comedy for easily offended adults, either.  It’s not the filthiest comedy by a long shot, but it’s definitely not squeaky clean.  As for the lack of women in the film, this didn’t bother me (probably because I’m a man), but it might be hard for some women to identify with many of the comedic moments since this is very much a movie for the guys.  In fact, when a woman finally does show up (another moment played up in the previews) the guys instantly tense up and create a very awkward situation.  I can see a lot of women enjoying it, but they are not the target audience.

 

This Is the End is a comedy tailor made for fans of the all the actors involved.  So this movie is made for people like me, which is why I loved it.  But even if it’s not for you, I think it’s possible to enjoy it.  Because even if you don’t like them, it’s still funny to watch celebrities have to deal with problems that can’t be taken care of with money and fame.  And, finally, look at it this way: if you hate some of these actors, at least you get to watch some of them die.

 

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

 

I didn't really mention it at all in the review itself because it was getting too long as it is, and I didn't feel like finding a logical spot to include it, but Rogen and writing/directing partner Evan Goldberg deserve a lot of credit here.  Not just for the writing and everything (they've already proven that they can write some funny stuff), but for the directing.  The death scenes were handled well, and they created a decent hellscape with what I assume is a relatively small budget for an apocalyptic film.  The CG was a little cheap-looking, but I can't imagine who would care about that.  Anyway, hats off to Rogen and Goldberg. 

 

Okay, now for the cameos that I loved.  Michael Cera.  I know, I know, it's all in the previews, but I still found him hilarious.  To take such a notoriously softspoken actor like that and turn him into a cocaine-blowing psycho is hilarious enough; to imagine that that is what Cera is like in reality makes it doubly funny. 

 

All the rest of the little cameos are great and all, but Channing Tatum showing up later as McBride's dog/sex slave was amazing.  I lost it when McBride said he had taught him to do tricks.

 

Not really a spoiler, but a final note: All of these guys yelling expletives at each other will always make me laugh, but for some reason when they do it as versions of themselves, I find it absolutely hilarious.

"Get Him to the Greek"

Get Him to the Greek - Written and directed by Nicholas Stoller, starring Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Rose Byrne, and Sean Combs - Rated R

The Kurgan likes to party like a rock star.

Get Him to the Greek is a strange film. First off, it’s a spin-off from 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall. That’s not that odd except that Jonah Hill, who played a waiter who was an over-eager fan of Russell Brand’s rock star Aldous Snow, is also in this film…as a different character. This film is a bit different (and funnier) than Sarah Marshall so I’ll forgive it that initial confusing aspect.

Greek is all about the rock star lifestyle. Aaron Green (Hill’s new character) comes up with the idea of having Aldous Snow put on an anniversary concert at the Greek Theatre in L.A. The only problem is that Aldous has fallen from grace a bit and he has a serious drug problem. So Aaron has to escort/babysit a rock star from England to L.A. Hijinks ensue, of course.

The plot isn’t all that original (it’s very much like 1982’s My Favorite Year), but this film isn’t about the story. In fact, the weakest moments of this film are when it tries to have a point. Anytime Aaron tried to get serious with Aldous and talk about life choices and whatnot, I got bored. I just didn’t feel like the movie earned any of these moments. The serious scenes seemed very out of place to me. But that actually works in the film’s favor a bit.

The uneven tone of the film mirrors the rock star life it’s attempting to showcase. While the inconsistent tone may not be intentional, it still added to the film. The partying scenes are all over the place, just like the film itself. The serious scenes could be a bit boring and unnecessary, but they just made the funny scenes seem that much better.

Enough with the serious, anyway, this is a comedy after all. So is Greek funny? Absolutely. The focus on the rock star life has been done time and time again, but this film takes a weird approach with it. I’m not saying that the approach itself is weird; I’m saying that they focus on the weird. I’m a fan of absurd comedy. So a scene in which all the main characters are high on a “Jeffrey,” rubbing a furry wall to stay sane while a knock down drag out fight ensues had me laughing uncontrollably. If that scene just sounds stupid to you, then you may want to skip this one. If you want to know more about a “Jeffrey” after reading that, then check this movie out.

The style of the comedy feels very much like improv. It seemed like the actors were allowed to do multiple takes of each scene and just see what worked. Maybe that's the case, maybe not (Nicholas Stoller is the only credited screenwriter, though). In any case, I thought many of the funny scenes played out like that because whenever an actual plot point came up, the actors seemed to be playing slightly different characters. It was as if they were allowed to ham it up and go for it, then they were reeled in for the "real" scene. Normally, that would bother me, but the nonsensical scenes were funny enough to excuse it. This film is filled with non sequiturs and I love it. At one point the characters are running down a lengthy hallway and Brand yells out that the long hallway is "Kubrickian." A Kubrick joke? Awesome.

Greek has the rock star craziness down, but whether or not it has a rock star is up for debate. I’m not the biggest Russell Brand fan out there (and many people I talk to are either unaware of who he is or flat out hate him), but I think he’s great in this. He just seems like a cocky rock star. Brand is perfectly condescending and charming at the same time. You want to hate his character but there’s a little something there to make him redeeming.

Jonah Hill is funny as well. He handles the straight man aspects of the role convincingly, but when he gets to freak out he shines. Rose Byrne was great as Jackie Q, Aldous’s oversexed pop star ex-girlfriend. If anything, it’s just funny to see her act that crazy because she usually plays very normal characters. There are some interesting cameos in the film as well. My favorites were Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter) and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. I actually think Ulrich is a complete tool, but his appearance in the film was funny. All of these actors and more are fine, but they have the show stolen from them by Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy).

Combs plays Sergio, Aaron’s vulgar record executive boss. His multiple rant scenes were all funny, but the part he plays in the “furry wall” scene still makes me laugh when I think about it. I would go so far as to say that Sean Combs alone makes this movie worth watching. I know some people have apprehensions about rappers transitioning into acting, but those people need to leave that mentality at the door and just sit back and enjoy Puff Daddy in this, because it turns out that he’s very, very funny.

Sean Combs was not the only surprise I got from this film. I know the movie is about a rock star, but I didn’t expect anything music-wise. I was pleasantly surprised to honestly enjoy most of the original songs in the film and it turns out that Brand can sing a bit.

Get Him to the Greek has some slight issues but the crazy partying sequences, the funny and genuinely good music, and Sean Combs definitely overshadow any of the weaker, more serious moments in the film. Just remember, though, this movie is funny, but it’s weird funny. If you go in expecting a Ben Stiller-type comedy then you’ll walk out sorely disappointed. If you go in expecting a movie in which P. Diddy says he wants to cover his house in fur so that it looks like a “werewolf,” then you’ll probably like this movie as much as me. But then again, I’m weird.