 'Cornetto Trilogy' actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up with director Greg Mottola and his American team of comedy actors to produce something that actually works out really well. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind seeing that team get together again. Predating 2013's 'The World's End,' I was actually once convinced that THIS was the third 'Cornetto' movie. Then I realized I was wrong, and went on living my life anxiously awaiting the third 'Cornetto' movie, and hope for it honestly started slipping away, until finally 'The World's End' was made... okay, I got WAY off track there, so let's get back to the point.
Pegg and Frost portray a couple of comic book geeks named Graeme and Clive, respectively. They go on holiday in the U.S. to go to Comic-Con and tour some of the top U.F.O. hot spots around Roswell, New Mexico. On their travels, they have a run-in with a real alien named Paul (Seth Rogen), who speaks fluent English, drinks, curses, and smokes pot. He happens to be on the run and trying to get home, pretty much 'E.T.' style, as the American government pursues them throughout the movie. In other words, it's get Paul home or have the authorities do some rather unpleasant experiments on him. Joining the cast are Jason Bateman, Bill Hader and Jo Lo Truglio as a bunch of bumbling agents, Kristin Wiig as Ruth Buggs; a devout Christian who has her mind changed with hilarious consequences, and even the voice of Steven Spielberg shows up for a gag. There's also a pretty big and ultimately pleasant cameo here by the one and only sci-fi queen, Sigourney Weaver. Pumping the brakes for a second here, I should probably point out that this movie is of an atheistic nature. I, myself, am an agnostic, so the concept of atheism isn't something that bothers me in any way. However, I do believe in "live and let live" very strongly. So, if you ARE a devout Christian, I wouldn't exactly recommend this title to you. This one's for the minds of science more than the minds of religion. Of course, there's also plenty of swearing, sexual innuendo, drugs and drinking in this as well, so... I guess not recommending it to the Christian community goes without saying. If you do, however, have a mind that's open to the concept, I HIGHLY recommend this one. It brings some of the best comedy out there together into one movie. It's above an an American movie, but there's enough British humour to be had here as well. It's kinda like watching what would have become of two hardcore British 'X-Files' fans, but they're played by two of the funniest guys in Britain. But the REALLY interesting and somewhat surprising thing about this movie is that it actually has quite a bit of heart to it. Sometimes it looks like something nice and turns into something hilarious, but often it just IS something nice and touching. I'm not really sure what else there is to say about it, but I will say that if you enjoy comedy team mash-ups, this is one of the better ones out there today, and it has to be at least slightly admired for being able to combine American and British humour successfully!
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 So, remember last week when I said if you still didn't like Michael Cera's acting after 'Scott Pilgrim vs The World' to "tune in next week" so to speak? Well, I'll get to that soon enough, as it's just one part of what makes 'This Is the End' so funny.
In short, we're looking at the "Apatow group" (for lack of a better name) all playing themselves, and showing us just how well (or not well) they might deal with an apocalypse in the biblical sense (demons running around, hell freezing over, etc.) It all starts when Jay Baruchel flies in to visit Seth Rogen. They end up going over to James Franco's house for a party, and the end of days quickly ensues. Perhaps the most appealing part of this movie is that everyone is just playing themselves. They're the character versions of themselves, but it still makes things all the more fun. And this is where Michael Cera comes in. In playing himself, he actually ends up being a drugged up, coked out asshole of sorts. Mr. typecast as typically timid end up delivering some pretty big laughs. He's pretty much the exact opposite of what you'd ever expect. A few more cameos come into the mix including Emma Watson, Rihanna, and a handful of other Apatow guys who show up at the initial party. It's a movie where if you take a look around in the background, you might spot someone you recognize from something else, essentially playing themselves, if only to be a background character. There is one other major cameo, but it's just too good, I can't spoil it. Let's just say you'll know it when you see it. What further impressed me with it was that it wasn't ONLY funny dialogue going on, but some really badass looking special effects then it got right down to seeing what some of the demons looked like, and the layout of a destroyed LA. It's a movie where you wouldn't expect the effects to be far past passable, but wait until you see these things. With fair warning, there is quite a bit of humor in this that involves some rather dark and iffy stuff. For example, a few demon penises here and there, a childish argument about *ahem* we'll say "ejaculation", and a whole lot of pretty scary-looking stuff. A pit opens up as celebrities fall into Hell, creepy sounds at night while they're trying to sleep, and without giving too much away, some of the deaths are pretty over the top. This was an interesting take on several genres. It manages to be the perfect balance of stoner comedy and horror, surprisingly enough. Not just any movie can come along and do something like that. The comedy blended with such dark subject matter makes for a pretty hilarious flick... IF you can make it past the colorful language and, again, demon penises. |
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