All the things we loved about previous Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movies “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “Paul” are present again in the pub-crawl comedy “The World’s End”: A bit of smart humor (the first two pubs look identical), a bit of smart-dumb humor (one character smashes through a door a few brews into the game), a bit of dumb humor (belching) and a few chuckles just because the characters say British things like “pint” and “lager.” Honestly, though, the laughs are in a bit shorter supply than those previous classics.
The title has a double meaning: 1) The residents of Newton Haven are being body-snatched by “simulants,” and 2) It’s the name of the final bar on the Golden Mile, a 12-pub crawl through the town. Gary (Pegg), Andy (Frost) and their three buddies (Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Eddie Marsan) made it through eight pubs (and eight pints) when they were 18, but now — pushing 40 — Gary wants to return to his otherwise-drab hometown take another go at it. His friends come along, wondering if they are sharing the fun or merely enabling Gary’s tendency toward excess.
I admit that I was starting to count the pubs toward the end, as “The World’s End’s” comedy keg gets tapped out faster than “Shaun of the Dead” and this summer’s other apocalyptic blockbuster “This Is the End.” (Despite the similarities, this film feels different enough that it’s worth seeing both.) Robot-like people aren’t as funny as zombies, somehow, and the Pegg/Frost humor isn’t as daring as the Seth Rogen/James Franco approach, where they played “themselves.” And it’s a bit muddled how the end-of-the-world theme gets mixed in with Gary’s Golden Mile goal — is it a way to recapture the good old days, or is it just stunted growth? And is he a drunk? If so: So what?
Still, there are a lot of laughs to be had, many thanks to Pegg’s all-in portrayal of that one friend we all had who makes his mates look around the bar surreptitiously (WE’RE used to his uncouthness, but the rest of society might not be). It starts hilariously as we hear Gary’s tale of the gang’s first crack at the Golden Mile in voiceover, then see that he’s speaking at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Other laughs come from watching the quintet gradually get more blitzed. I don’t know if the actors were really drinking or if they are just good actors.
While it may be slightly overblown and a bit short on originality, “The World’s End” won’t require you to be as smashed as the characters in order to enjoy it. (Still, it does make me wonder how far I could get in the Golden Mile …)