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This is the End (2013)
Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Evan Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, and a huge ensemble. Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
I’m seeing an increasing number of big-studio films lately that really ask to be evaluated not as sequences of events, but as groups of comedic sketches loosely tied together by some concept of a plot. Last year’s This is 40 is among the more successful, more traditionally constructed of these, while 2013′s Grown-Ups 2 holds up the other end, with almost no meaningful storyline at all. If you dislike such a movie because there’s a flaw in the way one plot element leads to the next, or with conflicts and resolutions, you seem to be missing the film’s intentions, which tend more toward silliness, sight gags, and censorship-avoiding derring-do. Add This is the End to that list and proceed to the theater or DVD kiosk with caution: it’s got some idiotic, clever, laugh-aloud moments that might embarrass you, but don’t expect any semblance of the satisfying arc of, say, the same writers’ 2007 film, Superbad.
In fact, it is not the lack of plot substance that leaves me most dissatisfied with This is the End, but the lack of believable sensitivity and heart for their characters that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were once so skillful in evoking. You could tolerate the unspeakably embarrassing situations characters in their other films find themselves in because they are handled deftly, with equal amounts of sympathy and humor. Craig Robinson, especially gifted at playing tragic while in the midst of insanely juvenile comedy, seems wasted here, ‘though among the lead actors he gives it the best go.
This apocalyptic film features an enormous cast of actors playing fictional versions of themselves, the most impressive of whom is Emma Watson, whose funny, gross exchange with the male stars of this film after a night in James Franco’s house is the picture’s highlight. There was huge laughter during a pretty well-conceived exorcism scene, but I found it to be long and (mostly) unfunny, so I get the feeling I’m just not getting the joke.
Which is not a bad description for my overall feelings about this movie. I’m predisposed to liking the actors in this film, and I went in wanting a really good laugh, but This is the End mostly left me feeling a little flat.
5/10 (IMDb rating)
50/100 (Criticker rating)
Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Evan Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, and a huge ensemble. Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
I’m seeing an increasing number of big-studio films lately that really ask to be evaluated not as sequences of events, but as groups of comedic sketches loosely tied together by some concept of a plot. Last year’s This is 40 is among the more successful, more traditionally constructed of these, while 2013′s Grown-Ups 2 holds up the other end, with almost no meaningful storyline at all. If you dislike such a movie because there’s a flaw in the way one plot element leads to the next, or with conflicts and resolutions, you seem to be missing the film’s intentions, which tend more toward silliness, sight gags, and censorship-avoiding derring-do. Add This is the End to that list and proceed to the theater or DVD kiosk with caution: it’s got some idiotic, clever, laugh-aloud moments that might embarrass you, but don’t expect any semblance of the satisfying arc of, say, the same writers’ 2007 film, Superbad.
In fact, it is not the lack of plot substance that leaves me most dissatisfied with This is the End, but the lack of believable sensitivity and heart for their characters that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were once so skillful in evoking. You could tolerate the unspeakably embarrassing situations characters in their other films find themselves in because they are handled deftly, with equal amounts of sympathy and humor. Craig Robinson, especially gifted at playing tragic while in the midst of insanely juvenile comedy, seems wasted here, ‘though among the lead actors he gives it the best go.
This apocalyptic film features an enormous cast of actors playing fictional versions of themselves, the most impressive of whom is Emma Watson, whose funny, gross exchange with the male stars of this film after a night in James Franco’s house is the picture’s highlight. There was huge laughter during a pretty well-conceived exorcism scene, but I found it to be long and (mostly) unfunny, so I get the feeling I’m just not getting the joke.
Which is not a bad description for my overall feelings about this movie. I’m predisposed to liking the actors in this film, and I went in wanting a really good laugh, but This is the End mostly left me feeling a little flat.
5/10 (IMDb rating)
50/100 (Criticker rating)