The stars are uniformly excellent, whether rolling with previously established personas (McBride’s macho a-hole would have us think he’s not much different from his Eastbound and Down character Kenny Powers), or playing against them (Franco is a sentimental goofball who kinda has a crush on Rogen). Watson is stirred awake by the whispered “rape rape rape,” and her reaction is explosive, and priceless. Baruchel, with the best of intentions, says that, with one girl among all these guys, he hopes they won’t give off a “bad vibe.” Robinson, thinking he’s clarifying things, says they shouldn’t give off a “rapey vibe.” As they bicker about who does or doesn’t come off as “rapey,” we remember that Franco built the house so that any conversation can be heard in any room. After she goes upstairs to get some sleep, the boys chatter about their new comrade (even the surliest among them, Danny McBride, admits he’s a huge Harry Potter fan). A scene that exemplifies what Rogen and Goldberg do best comes about halfway through, when partygoer Emma Watson, who’s been out in the conflagration, returns to Franco’s house and announces there’s a zombie invasion. Indeed, hell is other crybaby movie stars. For the band of survivors in This Is The End, the consideration of how to divide (or not) their only Milky Way bar becomes equal to the raging battle between Good and Evil. Their protagonists possess a verbal bravado that barely masks deep-down insecurity, and their movies share a spirit of high silliness in which the petty is elevated at the expense of whatever big picture the characters should be dealing with. As they’ve shown in previous screenplay collaborations such as Superbad, Pineapple Express, and The Green Hornet, their forte is updating the cool, ‘70s buddy movie for the hyper-sensitive twenty-first century. Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg make their debut as directors with This Is the End. That’s about it for plot, but what’s more important is the dynamic among the group of actors whose friendship is tested by supernatural adversity. The afore-mentioned gang barricade themselves in Franco’s house while cheesy CGI demons roam the devastated landscape. For others, the ground splits to reveal a Pit of Hell into which-sorry, Rihanna, Aziz Ansari, and David Krumholz-the celebrities tumble. A lucky few are lifted upwards by beams of blue light. designed), what at first feels like an earthquake, and then erupts into a multitude of blazes, turns out to be nothing less than the Apocalypse. On the night of a Hollywood party at Franco’s swank house (which, of course, the actor/artist/poet/etc. The Apatow Babies who play twisted versions of themselves in this inspired, raucous disaster-picture spoof are Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and Jay Baruchel, joined by Craig Robinson and Danny McBride. Members of this particular pack got their start in Judd Apatow-produced and/or –directed TV shows and movies, stretching as far back as the beloved series Freaks and Geeks. This is The End is my kind of Rat Pack movie. Partying at the end of the world in THIS IS THE END
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