Those Cannonball Run movies were hardly classics, but it sure did look like Burt, Dom and the gang were having a blast making them.
That same vibe permeates the red band trailer for This Is the End, the upcoming apocalypse comedy starring Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill as … Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill.
In the defense of the Cannonball films, the stars in question had long since gained our trust and could be forgiven for yukking it up on our ticket dollar. Plus, we’re talking about Burt Reynolds, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin, among others.
Frankly, Rogen, Franco and crew haven’t earned such a pass yet. Not even close. And, much worse, the red band trailer is shockingly unfunny.
The trailer feels self-indulgent, a vanity project disguised as a summer comedy blockbuster. The fact that the R-rated trailer is laugh free is all the more troubling. Some R-rated film trailers suffer from leaving the nastiest material out. There’s no excuse here.
Here, we see people being crushed to death and impaled, among other atrocities, all the while the film’s stars recognize their action movie experience hardly makes them heroes.
That’s a comedy thread that can work, but everything else in this trailer makes us long for some sort of non-comedic apocalypse.
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