Six Los Angeles celebrities are stuck in James Franco's house after a series of devastating events just destroyed the city. Inside, the group not only have to face the apocalypse, but themse... Read allSix Los Angeles celebrities are stuck in James Franco's house after a series of devastating events just destroyed the city. Inside, the group not only have to face the apocalypse, but themselves.Six Los Angeles celebrities are stuck in James Franco's house after a series of devastating events just destroyed the city. Inside, the group not only have to face the apocalypse, but themselves.
- Awards
- 10 wins & 23 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSeth Rogen said that he was shocked by how much the actors would insult each other. According to him, Jonah Hill and James Franco, in particular, seemed to go at each other the hardest. At one point, he felt like he had to intervene and remind them that they are actually friends and like each other.
- GoofsWhen Jay Baruchel and Craig Robinson are running from the dog-like demon in the neighbor's house, Craig saves Jay by pushing him out of a glass door. As Craig is jumping into Jay he is securely wearing the backpack full of food but when they crash through to the outside the very next second he is not wearing it.
- Quotes
James Franco: Your mama's pussy was the canvas. Your dad's dick was the paintbrush. Boom. You're the art.
Jay Baruchel: Thanks, James Franco.
- Crazy creditsThe Point Grey Pictures title sequence features an animation of apocalyptic mayhem in a city.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Real World: This Is the End Edition (2013)
- SoundtracksEverybody (Backstreet's Back)
Written by Max Martin and Denniz Pop (as Dag Volle)
Performed by Backstreet Boys
Courtesy of RCA Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Featured review
Good For a Few Huge Laughs, It's Not as Consistent as You May Have Heard
Seth Rogen and his usual entourage of stoner near-celebrities return to the screen, this time propped against the backdrop of a biblical end-of-world scenario. There's a certain taste of playful irony in the fact that so many of these actors, Rogen, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride especially, who share the common criticism of merely playing themselves throughout their careers, are doing so literally this time around. They're able to play that up to ridiculous extremes and big laughs in the long-form party scene that eats up most of the first act, riffing and rolling with the punches in their never-ending quest to make the cast and crew smile. Predictably, that's the film's sweet spot - a blank slate for ad-lib spoils - and when it's finally cast aside to make way for a more coherent narrative (admittedly, a very loose one) their ship springs a big leak. Where a more thoroughly-incubated concept like Shaun of the Dead is able to easily blend quick, witty banter with big set pieces and wild, frenzied action, This is the End struggles to unify an equally diverse toolbox. I can get the fish-out-of-water aspect that was being fronted here, of a catered group of celebrities who were lost when their smartphones dropped off the grid, but that runs out of gas near the three-quarter mark and when the big special effects swing and miss, there's nothing left to carry us the rest of the way. Really uproariously funny at a few points, but pointlessly thin and overblown at others.
Additional thoughts after a recent re-watch:
Like a lot of Rogen and company's films, I think this works far better if you fit one or two descriptions: happy-intoxicated or just in the mood for something completely mindless. Last night I was both, and man did it hit a sweet spot. Of course, the opening party scene has the greatest bits - actors and celebrities poking fun at themselves and the vapid public image that typifies their slice of pop culture - but it also functions well when the crowd is significantly reduced and the plot shifts from a snappy ensemble comedy to a much smaller crew in the midst of a disaster. The transition from dialog-driven laughs to a frantic survival parody is so sudden, the only thing I can compare it to is the infamous directorial shift of From Dusk Till Dawn. This is the End, though, pulls off that wheel jerk more than once. Of course, such swerves cause the storyline to spiral completely out of control, but that unpredictability is partially what makes it so stupidly entertaining. Not something I'd want to watch most nights, but it's also more consistently knee-slap funny than I remembered. Upon review, I'd upgrade my original score from an 6 to an 8.
Additional thoughts after a recent re-watch:
Like a lot of Rogen and company's films, I think this works far better if you fit one or two descriptions: happy-intoxicated or just in the mood for something completely mindless. Last night I was both, and man did it hit a sweet spot. Of course, the opening party scene has the greatest bits - actors and celebrities poking fun at themselves and the vapid public image that typifies their slice of pop culture - but it also functions well when the crowd is significantly reduced and the plot shifts from a snappy ensemble comedy to a much smaller crew in the midst of a disaster. The transition from dialog-driven laughs to a frantic survival parody is so sudden, the only thing I can compare it to is the infamous directorial shift of From Dusk Till Dawn. This is the End, though, pulls off that wheel jerk more than once. Of course, such swerves cause the storyline to spiral completely out of control, but that unpredictability is partially what makes it so stupidly entertaining. Not something I'd want to watch most nights, but it's also more consistently knee-slap funny than I remembered. Upon review, I'd upgrade my original score from an 6 to an 8.
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- drqshadow-reviews
- Oct 16, 2013
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Jay and Seth Vs. the Apocolapyse
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $32,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $101,470,202
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $20,719,162
- Jun 16, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $126,041,322
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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