Movie Review: “This is the End” One of the Absolute Best Films of the Year

I don’t think 2013 has been a very good year for movies so far. I can count the number of films I would rate a B+ or better on one hand. And then along comes “This is the End” (worth noting: it was Alabama Liberal’s number 2 pick for the most promising films of summer) which is the most innovative big studio comedy I’ve seen in years and also one of the funniest. It takes a piece of formulaic trash like The Internship to make you realize just how good a film like this is. Taking an apocalypse movie and blending it with a showbiz satire is brilliant, but also grounding what’s left in the tricky dynamics of male friendships allows them to smash buddy comedy cliches as well.

What Works: The Rotten Tomatoes consensus mentions the film’s “loosely written script” but that’s exactly what makes the film such a spontaneous delight. The typical big studio formulas and structure are thrown out the window for something fresher, wilder, and all-around more alive. Every scene feels like you really don’t know where the movie is going, and when you think you’ve got it figured out, they just keep throwing curveballs. I would delve into the great End-of-Days spoofing sight gags and set-ups but that would spoil half the fun. I will say that the core ensemble play off each other nicely with different comedic rhythms: there’s the effeminate version of Jonah Hill, the vain-glorious version of James Franco, and a brief cameo by Michael Cera as a sociopathic version of himself (it’s shocking how good this look is on an actor I’d grown tired of). But if there’s a true breakout in the ensemble, it would have to be Danny McBride. I’ve loved this actor since I saw his indie The Foot Fist Way (perhaps most know him as washed-up blowhard Kenny Powers on Eastbound and Down, where his ability to play amorality and depression for laughs continues to impress). But the role of “Danny McBride,” a Devilish version of his real self who’s only a little too comfortable with the end of the world transcends self-parody to become a great character in its own right. Whether he’s quarreling with Franco or just generally creating chaos among the group, he steals just about every scene he’s in. No small feat when you’re surrounded by some of the quickest comic actors in Hollywood.

What Doesn’t Work: In every ensemble, there’s a weak link, and that would have to be the charisma-less black hole that is Jay Baruchel. I’ve never been that annoyed by Baruchel in other projects, but that’s mostly because they never made the mistake of making him the lead character. He’s the self-righteous, down-on-everything straight man but that feels redundant in a film that also features Seth Rogen as a quasi-straight man. Their friendship is supposed to be the heart of the movie, and it is, but Rogen just looks (mostly) confused for most of the movie while everyone else is given a more clearly defined part around him. Also, the film would have worked better without the final scene.

What I Would Have Done Differently: Couldn’t Craig Robinson’s and Jay Baruchel’s characters have been combined? Lessening the ensemble might have strengthened it. Also [spoilers] but the final scene with some characters in heaven would have been a lot funnier if they were surrounded by people that weren’t that good-looking, weren’t that interesting, and they were all a little bored with heaven. It would have been the right kicker for a film that so gleefully subverts all genre conventions. Still, don’t let me send a mixed message: see this movie.