Film Review: ‘Rapture-Palooza’ Makes End of the World Boring

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Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Craig Robinson has a movie coming out about the end of the world that co-stars friends and fellow comedians Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and others. It’s called “This is the End.” Craig Robinson has another movie coming out about the end of the world that co-stars fellow comedians, including Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, John Francis Daley, and Ana Gasteyer. It’s called “Rapture-Palooza,” and it opens in some markets tomorrow, June 7, 2013, while also being available On Demand. He’s cornering a very specialized market. Based on the general sense that “Rapture-Palooza” is little more than an extended “SNL” sketch, he can keep it.

Written by Chris Matheson and directed by Paul Middleditch, “Rapture-Palooza” starts with a clever concept. The Rapture happens while Lindsey (Anna Kendrick) and Ben (John Francis Daley) happen to be out bowling. Over the credits, pants fall over bowling shoes and balls crash to the ground. But Lindsey and Ben aren’t taken up to Heaven. They’re left, stuck a world that’s about to face the apocalypse. In perhaps the funniest bit, Lindsey’s mom (Gasteyer) is sent back to Earth after she gets into a fight in line at the Pearly Gates, while her father (John Michael Higgins) and pothead brother (Calum Worthy) aren’t even taken up in the first place. The entire family is forced to deal with flaming rocks falling from the sky, blood rain, and the truly surreal sight of locusts who scream “Suffer!” Don’t get me started on the profanity-spewing crows or the undead neighbor (Thomas Lennon) who just wants to mow his lawn for eternity.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Rapture-Palooza” in our reviews section.

Lindsey and Ben decide to make the best of a pretty awful situation. They decide that they’re going to start a sandwich cart business, which can be difficult in an economy in which the streets are overrun with Wraiths. But they’re picking it up, talking about having kids, and going on post-Rapture. The idea that even if you think the world has gone to shit now, at least it’s not raining blood and dropping lava rocks on your loved ones is pretty clever room for satire — Which is then discarded in favor of the Craig Robinson Show, for better or worse.

Robinson shows up as, you guessed it, The Antichrist. Referred to more often as The Beast, the pure evil comes in the form of a smooth-talking politician, who quickly proceeds to do whatever and whomever he pleases since if you shoot the Antichrist , it brings Satan to Earth. He gets bodyguards, a mansion, and starts nuking major cities for fun. He even buys a laser for when Jesus comes to stop him. And then he spots Lindsey and falls deep in lust. Will Lindsey give herself over to evil? Could she use this as a chance to stop The Beast?

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Rapture-Palooza” review.

Rapture-Palooza
Photo credit: Lionsgate