Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Starring Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride

Grade: B

The Apatow-style comedy has a pretty simple formula. Get together a bunch of guys who either arrogant, hopelessly out of touch, or both, but make sure to make them loveable in their own flawed and shitty way, then put them in a situation entirely out of their comfort zone and let the actors improvise as much as possible. Plus, add a bunch of dick jokes. The lesser examples of this genre tend to forget two of those ingredients: the loveable part and the actors who are good at the improv bit. This is the End marks Seth Rogen’s directorial debut (actually co-directed with long time writing partner Evan Goldberg) and he knows the formula well. To mix things up, all the actors are playing themselves, well not really, they’re playing fictional versions of themselves, are in fact making fun of their own respective images.

The plot is this: Jay Baruchel is visiting Seth Rogen and they go to a party at James Franco’s house. Then the biblical apocalypse hits. Yes, sorry for the lack of spoiler alert, but if you’re really concerned with the plot twists of This is the End then I can’t help you. What follows is Jay, Seth, James, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny Mcbride all trying to survive. The variations of the characters are as follows: Jay is the hipster who resents all things Hollywood, Rogen is the small town good guy turned Hollywood elite, Franco is the clueless artist, Craig is the guy who projects an air of bad-assery but is really just as soft as the rest, Jonah is pretentious and fake, and Danny is the man-child only concerned with his own wants. McBride, possibly the best arrogant dick-joker this world currently has to offer, steals the show and once again lends credence to the idea that all movies would be better with Danny McBride involved. Yes, I mean all movies, I don’t mean that statement as hyperbole.

The movie gets more and more ridiculous as it goes and becomes something of a redemption tale, at least as far as these guys are willing to be redeemed. The term bromance has become far too overused, but that’s essentially what this film is, mostly being Jay and Seth, but Franco and Robinson get plenty of man-love moments too. Do we care about the characters? Not really, but we like them enough to enjoy their redemption, and enough to laugh at their shenanigans. This is not the best movie these guys have made together, though it’s certainly far from the worst.

I’m going to keep this review short because, well, what do you really say? It’s delightfully R-rated, McBride, Franco, and Robinson are all in top comedic form, and the movie never tries to be anything it’s not. Plus, seeing Michael Cera as the most obnoxious, coked out, entitled celebrity ever, is worth the price of admission alone. 40 Year Old Virgin it’s not, but it’s consistently funny and that’s all we’re really asking for.