The World’s End, to me, wraps up a summer of Apocalyptic-themed and “coming-of-age” movies quite nicely by blending the two genres. You’re probably saying, “But isn’t The World’s End about a lot of middle-aged men? How can this be coming-of-age?” I reply, “Who said everyone comes of age in their late teens? Sometimes it takes until age forty.”
Called the third in a trilogy (don’t worry—that’s only due to a completely unrelated tie (of some sort of ice cream treat?) through the three films), this movie was actually my first in the group. It’s ridiculously silly in its premise, but it has some great lines that made me chuckle and a few times laugh out loud. (As a lover of IPAs, I definitely giggled when one character talked about “the bitter end…or lager end.” With another great line, Gary compared drinking water to drinking rain, which in chastising his recovering alcoholic buddy, he said doing so was “like a lion eating hummus.”)
There’s more than just silliness, though. There’s a level of depth underneath. You’re reading this on Facebook, so I know you pay at least some attention to social media. And I suspect at least half of you have someone on your “Friends” list from your past who not only is from your past but might even seem to still be living in it. That would be Gary King in The World’s End. What prompts that stagnant life and how easily others can be to be sucked into it—whether from curiosity or actual care—is where I found the deeper side of The World’s End.
I won’t reveal if Gary King actually grows up on his journey of this one-mile/twelve-pint pub crawl interrupted by the alien/robot/blank beings that have suddenly seemed to take over his home town. (As I said, it has a ridiculously silly premise.) But I will say that the underlying notions of friendships and holding on to your past offer the story in an entertaining-enough manner to leave me feeling glad I saw this film. Those notions leave me also with just enough substance to provoke at least a few thoughts on growth and personal journeys.