Movie Reviews

Whenever a Seth Rogen project sees the light of day, you don’t know whether it’s going to be good or bad. When he gets it right, the results are hilarious (Superbad, Pineapple Express). When he fumbles the ball however, it can be get-kicked-in-the-balls painful (The Green Hornet, The Watch). So what to think of a movie that is about Rogen and his real-life friends (James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robertson all starring as themselves) attending a party at Franco’s house just when the Apocalypse happens? It’s a premise that could be funny as hell or one that can turn out as lame as say, The World’s End.

Basically, “This Is The End” is a collection of sketches that play out while the guys are hiding in Franco’s house with a lot of Red Bull, wodka and one Mily Way. While they are cracking wise about masturbation and each other’s careers, the Apocalypse is taking place outside and LA is being consumed by the fires of Hell. Some of the sketches are funny (Michael Cera as a coke-snorthing asshole in particular), some of them fall flat on their asses.

If anything, it shows that Rogen and his partner in crime Evan Goldberg are great at writing comedic dialogue. When it comes to penning an actual storyline however, they seem less at ease. But by the time you realize this, the Backstreet Boys pop up and the movie is over. No classic but entertaining at the very least.

The extras on the Blu-ray version contain short featurettes about the directors (“Directing Your Friends”) and the cast (“Meta-Apocalypse”), a couple of deleted scenes and bloopers. Also included are the promotional shorts that were all over the internet and a short documentary called “The Making Of Pineapple Express 2”. In other words, a lot more silliness.