Movies: This Is the End

Score:  *** out of ***** (C+)

Long Story Short:  "Comedy of the summer" buzz is growing quickly around Seth Rogen's directing debut.  Co-starring Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco and many others, This Is the End has major star power, but, in The End, it also seems somewhat wasted.  The "unique" premise quickly wears off, and a few chuckles here and there aren't enough to prevent this film from fading from memory.


The summer movie season chugs right along, and the release schedule serves up another change of pace in genre:  my first comedy of the year.  Before the summer, I thought it more likely that I would see The Internship (with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson).  I enjoyed that pairing in Wedding Crashers, and the premise was interesting.  However, it's been critically panned and my most recent theater experience, Now You See Me, made me want to find something better reviewed.  Enter This Is the End:  considering the type of comedy, I was quite surprised to see it get such positive scores (including an "A" from Entertainment Weekly).  I enjoy some of the comedians in it (though not my favorites), so I decided to give it a shot.  This Is the End was co-directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, and stars Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, James Franco, et. al.

Jay flies in to L.A. to hang out with his old friend, Seth Rogen.  The two have fun with drugs and video games, and then Rogen invites Baruchel to come along to a party at James Franco's house.  A little shy and just wanting to be with his friend, Jay is not happy about it but he agrees.  At Franco's place they find an assortment of Hollywood stars including Rogen's good friends Craig Robinson and Jonah Hill.  To escape the party, Jay goes to a convenience store and takes Seth with him.  That's when, quite literally, all hell breaks loose.

Returning to Franco's home for safety, the massive gathering is quickly reduced to just a few survivors: Rogen, Baruchel, Franco, Robinson, Hill - and an unexpected guest.  As the six squabble about what is going on and how to survive, the situation continues to deteriorate, causing the entitled comedians to consider whether the whole world is turning into a big joke on them.

Obviously, the cast is one of the most star-studded in recent memory, with each actor playing his/her celebrity self.  Rogen, also directing, is co-lead; due to this he plays as much of a "straight man" in this as exists, and isn't all that funny.  Baruchel is the other lead and even less funny; a better actor, perhaps, but he doesn't fit with the film's comedic style.  James Franco, I have to admit, is one of the best actors in this one; despite still being fairly unlikeable, he has some decent moments.  Jonah Hill has been falling fast in my ranks of current comedians, and continues to fall here (admittedly, he suffers from a little of Rogen's straight-man role).  Rounding out the main cast is Craig Robinson; as a supporting character in The Office, he was funny, but he has a lot of work to do to fit in bigger roles like this one.

Fortunately, there are some impressive performances from other members of the cast.  Danny McBride, whose part is smaller than those above but still substantial, is probably the funniest guy in the movie.  He seemed to be freer - by choice or command, I don't know - to do whatever the hell he wanted to, and it worked well.  Danny portrays himself as a truly terrible person here, but entertainingly so.  Michael Cera also has a brief (unfortunately) part at the beginning; he plays himself way against type, but does so so well that it's utterly believable and equally funny.  Other comedians (Jason Segel, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, etc.) appear but don't really contribute any humor.

In many ways, This Is the End seems to be a whole new kind of comedy, but the essence of it is not all that original.  Yes, the comedians are all playing themselves - but they are still acting, and so the fact that their names are their own quickly becomes the only real (yet superficial) connection.  Yes, it's a comedy within a disaster/horror movie, but this doesn't strike me as being any different from the many recent parody movies like Scary Movie (none of which I've seen, granted).  But strip away all the flash and quirks:  is the movie funny?  It supplies chuckles, sometimes even a little more, throughout.  But there are no truly hilarious scenes or even jokes.  The main problem here, and I think it's true of many, many recent comedies, is that the plot structure/drama aspect of the film serves not to create and support the humor but rather to drag it down.

***

This Is the End was the opposite of Now You See Me:  I wasn't really that interested in it based on premise/commercials, but went to see it due to good reviews.  Well, both cases have let me down in consecutive weeks.  I will admit, however, that my perspective on comedies may just be out of whack at the moment; I can't remember the last time that I saw a great, new comedy film.  As disappointing as, say, The Campaign was (I gave it a "B-"), in comparison to this and other recent comedies, it looks pretty damn good.  Maybe I need to adjust my scores for comedies based on lower expectations?  Sense of humor is a fickle thing, different not only from person to person but also within one person based on context (mood, company, etc.).  I guess what I'm trying to do here is figure out why I didn't particularly enjoy This Is the End despite good reviews from most others - and why comedies in general have been letting me down lately.  As I mentioned previously, there are some chuckles to be had here, but by the end, are they worth the price of admission?  I don't think so.