Tuesday, June 25, 2013

This Is The End

Okay, so it's not really the end, although, I suppose, it could be. I mean, we never know what's going to happen, so it's possible this is the end... the last post I will ever write...
But that's not the plan.

At any rate, my wife and I went to see This Is The End, and you can just shut up right now, because it was funny. In all of its crudity, it was just funny.

Not that I'm recommending it for everyone, because I know a lot of people are offended by this type of humor, and This Is The End takes it to Kevin Smith levels of crude and, probably, even beyond. Really, you have to see it to know what I'm talking to about, because I can't talk about it without spoilers.

First thing, you really need to have seen Pineapple Express to get some of the jokes in This Is The End. In a lot of ways, TITE is the real life sequel of Pineapple. So, if you've seen Pineapple and liked it, you'll probably like TITE. If you didn't like Pineapple, you definitely shouldn't bother with TITE.

The idea is that the end of the world is happening and a group of friends are hiding out together. Let me say that again: a group of "friends" are hiding out together to escape the end of the world. Except one of the guys (Jay Baruchel) really doesn't like any of the other people, and none of them really like one of the guys (Danny McBride), especially since he (McBride) wastes half of their food on the first day. It's one of those "what would happen if you were locked up with your best friends" kind of scenarios. How long would you maintain?

And it all starts with a party where no one notices that the end of the world is happening, which is a joke in-and-of itself and pretty priceless, if you ask me. The Emma Watson bit (which is shown in the trailer), because she's at the party, too, is hilarious. As is Michael Cera.

The thing about a movie like this is that the cast, who all play themselves, really has to be able to make fun of themselves. Parody themselves. Make all the things we think about them larger than life whether those things are true or not. And who knows how much of any of it is true other than those guys, but they were brilliant at it in this film. Especially James Franco. I don't care what people say about him, I'm convinced the man is one of the smartest actors in Hollywood. Hmm... that may not be saying much, so let me say he's just pretty freaking smart.

The best part, though, is the writing. What you expect is just some pretty straightforward crude humor, and it's full of that. I mean, the f*c& count is pretty high. [Did you know that wikipedia has an entry for the movies with the highest uses of that word? I do, now.] However, there's some pretty complex and subtle writing going on, too, which is pretty awesome if you can see it under all of the depravity of the movie. But, again, I can't talk about it without giving it away.

So, here at the end, let me just say that if you like this kind of humor, even if it's a guilty pleasure kind of thing, then you should go see this movie. Or, at the very least, plan to rent it. You know, as long as the End doesn't come beforehand...

15 comments:

  1. I love it that you are doing this - reviewing movies. Pineapple Express was funny. It was so funny I remember the name which I almost never do. See I've already forgotten the name of this one. Wait TITE, I can remember that.

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  2. I'm curious enough I'll eventually watch it, although the Pineapple Express wasn't my kind of humor.

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  3. Doesn't sound like my kind of movie at all.

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  4. Okay - humor is one of the main reasons I watch movies. Pineapple Express was crude but, yup, funny!
    I like smart humor. Crude humor is okay, and I don't care how many f**k's a movie has. I will do Netflix on TITE but I will see it.

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  5. This doesn't sound like my usual type of movie, but the concept of the actors parodying themselves sounds interesting...

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  6. I'll probably watch it on DVD or Netflix at some point. I rarely see the need to race out to watch comedies in the theater since there's not much drop-off watching them at home. And really I don't want idiots in the audience affecting what I might find funny or not.

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  7. David: It's part of my pop culture duties!

    Alex: I didn't expect that it would be.

    Jo: Probably not.

    Graciewilde: I think it's better than Pineapple.

    Misha: Oh, it is. I would have just loved to sit around and watch them come up with all of it.

    PT: It does have a few very theater moments, but most of it is just them locked in Franco's house.

    Michael: Let me know what you think.

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  8. My son and I were supposed to see this before he left today. Dang! Now I will have to buy it. Yes, he insisted I would love this movie. I love most of the comedians in this movie, especially Cera. Glad to hear such a great review from someone other than my son.

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  9. Elsie: Well, there are worse things than being "forced" to buy funny movies, right?

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  10. I thought the trailer I saw was pretty funny. I like a little depravity... my husband will probably want to see it for sure.

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  11. alexia: And the trailer doesn't even have all the funny stuff in it. I was laughing through nearly all of the movie.

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  12. I'm not offended by that type of humor, so I definitely want to see it. And I'll never feel guilty about it.

    It will also never surprise me to see what Wikipedia has pages on.

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  13. Jeanne: You should.
    And, yeah, I shouldn't be surprised, either, but I just didn't expect it.

    J.R.: Well, go see it!

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