Film Review: "This Is the End" (2013).

This is the End is "ending Summer 2013." This black comedy horror film written, co-produced and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, in their directorial debuts. In Hollywood, actor James Franco is throwing a party with a slew of celebrity pals. Among those in attendance are his buddies Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson. Suddenly, an apocalypse of biblical proportions erupts, causing untold carnage among Tinseltown's elite and trapping Franco's party in his home. As the world they knew disintegrates outside, cabin fever and dwindling supplies threaten to tear the six friends apart.

The film is also based on Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse, a short film created by Goldberg and Jason Stone in 2007. Rogen gave an interview, where he described how the script combined real characteristics of the actors, who then produced bizarre alternate versions of themselves, with elements that had absolutely nothing in common with the cast. By late April 2012, Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling, David Krumholtz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Rihanna, Martin Starr, Paul Rudd, Channing Tatum, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, and Jason Segel were cast as exaggerated versions of themselves. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrap in early July. Filming took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film was going to be shot in Los Angeles, in order to make it easier for the celebrities who would be doing cameos. However, the location was changed to New Orleans, in order to save money. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Goldberg stated that around eighty-five percent of the movie was improvised. During production, the film's working title was The Apocalypse, which was later changed to The End of the World. In late December, the name was then changed to This Is the End upon the release of its first trailer and poster. This was done at the request of Rogen's Paul co-star Simon Pegg, who wrote to Rogen in concern that The End of the World was similar to his comedy film The World's End. As The World's End was the name of a key location in that film, Pegg felt worried that he couldn't change the name of his film.

The film stars Rogen, Franco, Hill, Baruchel, McBride, Robinson, Cera, Watson, Kaling, Krumholtz, Mintz-Plasse, Rihanna, Starr, Rudd, Tatum, Hart, Ansari, and Segel. All the actors are not only superb, but through all the mayhem, hilarity and terror, the leads build multi-dimensional roles we grow to care about and genuinely hope survive. Except, we probably already know that it's not going to happen for any of them. They royally screwed and we're enjoying every minute of it.

Madcap and down-right hilarious, Golderberg and Rogen's apocalypse comedy This is the End benefits from the typically hilarious Franco, Hill, McBride, Robinson and Rogen himself, with a plethora of supporting players. A brilliant, apocalyptic genre pastiche while also a fiendishly clever commentary on the numbing absurdity that is Hollywood.

Simon says This Is the End receives: