This Is the End

It remains to be seen if This Is the End will emerge as the comedy of the summer, but to this point, it’s a foregone conclusion. While The Hangover Part III is only barely funny and obviously running on auto-pilot, This Is the End is quick, gets consistent laughs, and mines a lot of gold out of a very simple premise. Famed actors Seth Rogen, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride are trapped in Franco’s house in the hours leading to the biblical apocalypse. The genius stroke – which, admittedly, is laying it on a little thick – is the decision by the creative tandem of Rogen and Evan Goldberg to cast the actors as versions of themselves. It allows for great pot-shots at the actors’ expense as well as … um … pot shots about Mr. Rogen’s recreational drug of choice.