"This is the End": Satire of Celebrity Lifestyle

A comedy about a bunch of dudes who try to survive the Apocalypse. That was probably the pitch for "This is the End." And it stars a bunch of comedy actors who range from "oh, right, that guy" to A-listers: James, Franco, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel.

That's a movie that could be made today. End of the world movies are hot right now and those guys are (relatively) likable. But the interesting thing about "This is the End" is that all these guys are playing themselves or, rather, fictionalized versions of themselves. And there are a bunch of cameos from other Hollywood types like Michael Cera, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Jason Segel, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Channing Tatum, Paul Rudd and Emma Watson.

Here's what I like about celebrities playing themselves in comedies: it shows a great deal of self-awareness and good humor. Some of the guest appearances, most of which are at a big Hollywood bash at Franco's house, make the star look kinda dickish. But it's really clever to do a self-deprecating cameo. You watch Michael Cera as Michael Cera being an asshole and you think there's no way he (or his PR team) would let himself be portrayed like a total jerk if he really were a total jerk. Playing yourself in such an exaggerated fashion is like saying to the audience "hey, I'm actually really cool because I can laugh at myself!"

The other cool thing about stars playing themselves is that you get to see them interact with each other in cool ways, like Jason Segel making jokes about HIMYM to Kevin Hart or Rihanna smacking Michael Cera pretty hard for touching her inappropriately. Because these are popular actors, musicians and comedians, they bring their careers and personas with them. It's like when random celebrities tweet each other and it's like wow they're all friends!

"This is the End" is a very funny movie. Seeing these six guys play off each other is great fun and the whole thing has a "let's put on a show" vibe. For a while, it avoids taking everything too seriously and almost plays like a stoner parody of an Ingmar Bergman movie. There's tension and claustrophobia and limited supplies and everyone goes a little crazy.

One of my favorite lines from the film is when the Apocalypse starts to begin and the guys all think it's just a massive earthquake. Jonah Hill figures that the first people to get rescued will be them because they're popular actors. "George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, me and if there's room, you guys" he says. This theme of celebrity entitlement hangs over the entire film. Because these guys are in the middle of the Rapture, the big joke of the movie is that no celeb at Franco's party got ascended into heaven because they're all bad people, even though they act like they're, to quote Brandy, sitting on top of the world (top of the world).

If that sounds really cynical to you, I definitely agree with you. One of the major flaws of "This is the End" is that its morality is way too heavy-handed. The stuff about the Rapture and being ascended into heaven is played way too straight. Mixed in with that is my least favorite trope of end of the world movies: the relentless bitching and nastiness that comes when a bunch of people are stuck in a place faced with utter destruction.

Like I said, the movie is absolutely hysterical but at the same time, it can get exhausting. 107 minutes is too long for a movie with such a thin premise. Writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg try to stretch out the story with some friendship drama between the guys (though that stuff was done better in the pair's earlier movie Superbad and of course, Bridesmaids).

"This is the End" works as a satire of celebrity entitlement and it's funny, clever and inspired. But at the same time, it's really self-indulgent, believing that we the audience really care whether or not Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel (who, despite starring roles in How to Train Your Dragon and She's Out of my League, is still kind of a nobody) can mend their broken friendship and ascend into heaven. But perhaps that's part of the satire. These guys are so egomaniacal that they think they can get a hit movie out of airing their dirty laundry on the big screen.

It worked I guess. "This is the End" currently has grossed over $90 million off a small budget of $32 million.