The screenwriting duo behind ‘Superbad’ and ‘Pineapple Express’, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, have carved out their own niche within the framework of American mainstream comedy.
As diligent caretakers of the tradition of ‘toilet’ or ‘stoner’ forms of humor, the duo has demonstrated a commendable talent in shaping seemingly childish and at times bizarrely twisted stories about male friendship, carnal frustrations, and the dynamic interplay of chilled stoner sessions and erratic outbursts of violence.
Their most recent work enriches the form with supposedly explicit self-mockery: a plethora of fresh faces from the American film industry (Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride… playing themselves) after a typically wild party in the Hollywood hills are forced to confront mutual animosities, their own arrogance, and a cataclysm of epic proportions led by enormous demons with massive genitals.
‘This is the End’ is the last film in the world that will convert an audience averse to this type of humor, but everyone else can look forward to one of the funniest American comedies on this year’s cinema repertoire. Like the excellent ‘The World’s End’ by Edgar Wright, Rogen and Goldberg so skillfully grill their star-studded cast that it is easy to forget how much brainpower and effort is needed behind the camera for something so unruly to even function.
Post-apocalyptic anarcho-humor is merely a facade for an exceptionally playful and warm tribute to boundless human stupidity.
Directed by: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Emma Watson
This is the end, 2013.
Rating: 4/5
