This is the End

Directors: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, David Krumholtz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, Martin Starr
Running Time: 106 min.

★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Sometimes it can be freeing for viewers to be given a break from the rigid constraints of what we've come to expect from comedies. To be filled with the feeling that literally anything can happen at anytime and what we're watching isn't dependent on a specific formula that's been tried before. This is the End provides that tantalizing proposition, as a group of talented, likable actors are given the opportunity to just cut loose and poke fun at their own celebrity by playing versions of "themselves." It's a golden idea from the minds of Superbad co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, even if it looked more enticing on the page than it ends up being on screen. I kept wondering if maybe these guys setting just a few ground rules would have done the film some good, as it starts out promising until devolving into kind of a mess about midway through.

The admittedly inspired central conceit starts running on fumes after a while, with all the actors in on a joke that wears out it's welcome. And it's a shame because what starts so promisingly eventually amounts to a bunch of actors hanging out on set smoking weed and cursing at each other for almost two hours. What nearly rescues this are all these performers since it can't be overstated how big a fan of theirs I am, only making this disappointment sting just a bit more.

When actor Jay Baruchel arrives in L.A. to meet up with his old friend Seth Rogen, he sees it as an opportunity to get high, eat junk food and play video games. But Rogen has other plans, dragging his unwilling and visibly uncomfortable pal to James Franco's debaucherous housewarming party, which includes celebrity attendees such as Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Rihanna, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling, Jason Segel, Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, David Krumholtz and Martin Starr. But when Baruchel goes out for cigarettes with Rogen, the two discover mass chaos on the streets, with explosions, fire, and a strange blue light shooting pedestrians up into the sky. It isn't long after they return that a massive crack opens in the earth, swallowing most of Franco's famous partygoers while leaving Baruchel, Rogen, Franco, Hill and Robinson hauled up in his house hoarding supplies and waiting for help. Franco also has an uninvited houseguest in Danny McBride, whose belligerent behavior and glutenous consumption of food and drink is making survival extremely difficult. As tempers flare and tensions escalate at the Franco compound, Jay's bold prediction that the biblical Apocalypse is upon them is looking more more believable by the second.

To call a movie like this "self-indulgent" is not only beside the point, but possibly a high compliment. We wouldn't expect anything else from these guys and would worry if they didn't take every opportunity to lampoon their own images with tongues planted firmly in cheek. That's by far the film's strongest aspect and it's made very clear within the opening minutes with Michael Cera's extended cameo a self-absorbed, drug-addicted celebrity man whore who heinous acts include blinding Christopher Mintz-Plasse with cocaine and sexually harassing Rihanna, The movie never quite repeats it's magic once he departs (in the most spectacularly hilarious way possible). All the dirty, filthy comedy with Cera works because it's truly shocking to see him specifically act like a spoiled Hollywood brat and he just throws himself into it with reckless abandon. And of course there's his unbelievably colorful windbreaker, which should really have its own movie.

When they try to repeat much of Cera's over-the-top hijinx with everyone else it doesn't work as well. We completely expect Rogen, Franco, Hill, McBride, and Robinson to do the craziest things possible, but what's most surprising is just how much of a slog the middle portion of the picture is, with the six of men under lockdown in Franco's house hurling insults at each other and doing drugs for almost an hour straight.  While an "end of the world" scenario with these actors should be exciting, the premise actually turns out to be creatively limiting, almost as if Rogen and Goldberg didn't know what to do once the party stopped and they had to switch gears into Apocalyptic action-comedy. There's this nagging feeling that a real-time movie that revolved entirely around this party would probably be superior to much of what follows. 

That's not say this still doesn't have its moments, most of them coming in smaller doses when the actors spoof their own reputations. Franco is the pretentious "artiste," with his living room doubling as a gallery adorned with Freaks and Geeks paintings and a basement containing a Spider-Man 3 cardboard standee and an Harvey Milk sign. And that's not even mentioning what happens with his prized pistol from Flyboys. Really clever. Jonah Hill is re-imagined as disinengenous and strangely effeminate, competing with Baruchel for Rogen's attention. Craig Robinson's "Mr. Robinson" hand towel never leaves his shoulder while Danny McBride is, well, Danny McBride. Or more accurately, he's Kenny Powers. He also appears in an epic breakfast montage sure to make Walt Jr. and Ron Swanson jealous, as well as a homemade Pineapple Express sequel trailer with Rogen and Franco you almost wish were real. While it's hard to categorize these as "performances," they really are in every sense. Even that's a joke in itself when in one of the film's first scenes Rogen is harassed at the airport by a papparazzo asking why he always plays the same role over and over. That these guys all definitely seem in on it and clearly don't take themselves seriously in the slightest is at the crux of all the best scenes.

They have the right lead in Baruchel, who's great as a socially awkward hipster struggling to hang on to his friendship with Rogen despite his disdain for L.A. and everyone in it. It was smart making him the only semi-normal character in the movie, giving the audience an eyes and ears, not to mention someone really likable to root for. That everyone now gets to see just how good the former Undeclared star is may end up being this movie's biggest contribution. There's definitely a lack of female presence, with the exception of Emma Watson's extended cameo that puts her at the center of a joke that really isn't funny. While I can't say it directly contradicts with the rest of the film's tone, something about it does seem especially mean and tone-deaf. While it's arguable this joke could have even worked under any circumstances, they're undeniably way off with the execution, revolving the film's cruelest joke around an actress that whose presence instantly makes the situation seem horrifyingly uncomfortable rather than comical.

Very little needs to be said about the apocalyptic aspect of the story because if it were excised entirely I'm not sure you'd be left with something that's all that different. The special effects strike the right balance in that they're cheap enough looking to be funny, yet impressive enough looking to pass off as disaster movie worthy. But the actual apocalypse is the weak link in this, taking a backseat to all the meta references and existing primarily as the creative catalyst to strengthen Rogen and Baruchel's bromance. So by those standards it does undeniably succeed, especially at the finish line.

If I could pick a project from these actors that this most reminds me of in terms of tone it would probably be the Franco-McBride starring lowbrow comedy Your Highness, only with the Apocalypse standing in for a medievel adventure. It's ironic they justifiably trash that during this, and while actually comparing the two may be stretching it, there are definite similarities in terms of the style of humor. This is the End is much smarter and funnier, but gets most of its leverage from extremely likable actors just having a blast together, even as the audience is sometimes left out in the cold.                   

Hot Tub Time Machine

Director: Steve Pink
Starring: John Cusack, Rob Corddrey, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan, Lyndsy Fonseca
Running Time: 99 min.
Rating: R

★★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

Glancing at its title, it would be easy to assume Hot Tub Time Machine is the kind of time travel comedy you've seen before and would have little interest in seeing again. That assumption would be wrong. While it does contain elements similar to previous time travel comedies, this carves its own niche and ends the R-rated comedy drought we've been having lately. What impressed me most about the film is how much it managed to jam in, using dirty humor to milk the most out of an already promising premise, fully exploiting the technology, fashions, music and the consequences of time travel to its maximum potential. Anyone who knows me could have guessed there was little chance I wouldn't love this given it combines my two favorite things in movies: Time travel and the 1980's (in that order). But even I was surprised just how much fun it was.

The whole film kind of plays like a messed-up tribute to Back to the Future in how it cribs the elements that made that picture so successful and effectively spoofs them. Sometimes it does it literally, as in the case of a memorable sub-plot involving one of the stars from that classic movie. It also takes a couple of comics capable of grating on the nerves when given poor material and makes them likable. And as for the film's star, this might as well be the most entertaining project he's been involved with since the decade this is set. The filmmakers could have easily rested on their laurels, coasting along on the strong premise to craft a one-joke movie so it's to their credit they were interested in making this hilarious AND smart. And sorry, but besides being one of the most satisfying R-rated comedies I've seen in a very long time, I'd also say it's superior to last year's more popular The Hangover.

Insurance salesman Adam (John Cusack) is nursing yet another break-up and barely putting up with his geeky nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) playing video games in his basement, when he gets the call to come to the aid of his former best friend, Lou (Rob Corddry), a past-his-prime alcoholic with anger issues in the hospital following a suicide attempt. Along with the unhappily married, former rapper Nick (Craig Robinson), the friends treat Lou to a return trip to the Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, where they shared their wildest times as youths. Unfortunately, it's now a run-down dump and, seemingly like them, time has passed it by. A crazy night of drinking in the hot tub leads to an electronic malfunction that blasts all four back to 1986 where they aren't given much input by the tub repairman (played awesomely by Chevy Case as his usual snarky self) how to get back or what to do while they're there. Occupying the bodies of their 80's counterparts, they've seen The Butterfly Effect enough times to realize they have to exactly re-trace the steps they made then or face really bad consequences. But the temptation to fiddle with the past is just too great and before long they're forced to just embrace the chaos and try to right the wrongs until they can get home.

From the second these guys first realize where they are and what's going on and are hilariously bombarded by images of ALF, Ronald Reagan and MTV I knew this movie was going to get this right. It wisely doesn't get too bogged down in the details of time travel and instead focuses on the insane weekend they had in '86, affectionately mocking everything about the decade while delivering as many dirty jokes and rapid-fire sight gags as possible at its expense. The script goes all out holding nothing back and when the characters do decide that it might be better to tinker with the past (and how they go about doing it) the action just keeps getting funnier. There's a sub-plot involving Back to the Future's Crispin Glover as a one-armed bellhop so hysterical I was on the edge of my seat waiting for his next appearance and anxiously awaiting how it would be resolved. In just this brief supporting role, the creepy Glover outright steals the movie from everyone, which is a tall feat when you factor in Chase's appearance and a cameo from a well disguised classic 80's villain in a hilariously disgusting scene involving sports gambling.

As in most time travel movies, in addition to commentating on whether culture progressed or regressed, each character has a wrong in their past they have to set right and when the movie needs to occasionally take a break from the gross-out humor to address that, it does so effectively without ever turning sappy or sacrificing the laughs. As the protagonist of sorts, I can't say this is Cusack's best comic performance or that the role couldn't have been filled by someone else, but I'm glad it wasn't because there is a certain nostalgia factor with him starring we wouldn't have with another actor. The whole experience is enhanced seeing him "come home" to the great 80's style comedy he would have starred in during that decade. He actually looks like he's having a good time and in the process is breaking the lengthy streak of questionable career choices he's made through the years. This represents the kind of fun film that used to be his calling card and given his producing credit on it you'd hope that maybe he's finally starting to realize that.

The Cusack resurgence extends to the love interest, April, a Spin magazine writer played by the delightful Lizzy Caplan in the type of part that usually goes to Zooey Deschanel. Dare I say she does it just as well? It's smallish (probably too small) but in just a few brief scenes she makes it feel indispensable, recalling classic Cusack love interests in Say Anything and High Fidelity. Corddrey and Robinson are used to the best of their vulgar, gross-out capabilities, while Duke should be the odd man out as the nerdier version of Michael Cera, if he wasn't so good at it. The fact he's playing the only character not yet alive when the events in the film take place is incorporated cleverly into the story, making the whole situation funnier and even more uncomfortably disgusting.

The year is still young (and weak), but back-handed compliment or not, this is the most enjoyable movie I've seen thus far. If there was ever a comedy aimed directly at me, it's this. It's almost hard to believe it's directed by Steve Pink, who a few years ago botched an almost equally promising premise with Accepted. That suffered from not going far enough with its idea, whereas this goes just the right distance. Obviously, the filmmakers are targeting a niche audience in that those who remember the 80's or came of age during it will find the most to appreciate in its humor.

That it was even released at a time where nearly every other movie plays it too safe and seems aimed at the 13 and under crowd is reason enough to celebrate. It's nice to see the criminally under-served audiences in their twenties and thirties catered to with a fun movie they can relate to, and as an added bonus, have it work this well. Some of the jokes are so fast and subtle even that group of viewers might have to do a double take to pick up on everything, making me think Hot Tub Time Machine is the rare comedy you can actually return to every once in a while.