The concept of a celebrity cameo is not a new venture for cinema. Over the years, we have seen quite the few celebrity cameos that have made a film, the ones that spring to mind are Bill Murray’s fantastic appearance in Zombieland and of course, Being John Malkovich.
However, the idea of using an entire cast playing themselves in a comedy film is something that is entirely new. Sure, Woody Allen had the idea before with Celebrity but we’re pretty certain that was nowhere near as funny as This is the End.
You have to hand it to Seth Rogen, he really was determined not to let Superbad become just a flash in the pan. Although his follow-up projects were nowhere near as entertaining, Green Hornet in particular was a complete travesty, he wasn’t giving up on writing his best piece.
This is the End might actually be that piece.
The beauty of the film is that all the characters, like we mentioned above, play themselves. Revolving mainly around Seth Rogen and his best friend Jay Baruchel, the pair attend a housewarming party at James Franco’s house with a host of celebrity friends. When they pop out for some cigarettes however, the end of the world occurs and of course, the Rapture. Some of the people around them are lucky enough to make it into heaven, but not any famous person at the James Franco party, some are dragged to hell, the others who survive begin to live in Hell on Earth.
The party who survives consists of Seth, Jay and their good buddies James Franco, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride who has somehow managed to sleep through the entire affair. Together, they must find a way to survive and hopefully make it to heaven.
As ridiculous as the concept sounds, the film works and for so many reasons. First off, the script is excellent, hilariously funny with plenty of digs at the actors, particularly Jonah Hill. They all live up to the stereotype that is expected of them, Jonah the fake sweet guy, Franco the selfish good-looking one and Rogen the goofy one.
Although Rogen and Franco both hold their own in the piece, the standout roles are most definitely Jonah Hill, who even allows them to make fun of his Oscar nomination, and the wonderful Danny McBride who has literally been handed the finest lines in the film, none more so than “Hermione stole our shit.”
The greatest achievement of This is the End is in its ability to make crude humour totally accessible to everyone. Not only is this probably the funniest film you will see this year, it is certainly one of the most refreshing game changers in cinema. Comedy, you have a lot to live up to for the rest of this year.
