The Interview
Directors: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
Cast: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park, Diana Bang.
Rated R for pervasive language, crude and sexual humor, nudity, some drug use, and bloody violence.
From the guys that delivered the insanely funny This Is The End comes a controversial comedy about an assassination attempt on the infamous North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Recently, Sony fell victim to a vicious cyber attack that compromised many private emails and studio projects. Then the hackers threatened the U.S. that it would suffer 9/11-type attacks if Sony decided to release the comedy film, The Interview. Investigations led to the discovery that the North Korean government was, indeed, behind the Sony hack. This caused many theaters to pull The Interview from their Christmas release schedule, forcing Sony to cancel the release of the film altogether. On Christmas Eve it was revealed that the film would be shown in a few hundred independent theaters across the country or could be viewed online through YouTube, Google Play, and Xbox. So, is this film worth all the controversy? Bottom line: it's a silly and tasteless comedy that Franco and Rogen are known for, nothing more and nothing less.
The story involves a news program more obsessed with meaningless pop culture interviews than actual news broadcasting. Franco plays Dave Skylark, the broadcast journalist in front of the camera who is basically an immature man child who wants to party while his long-time producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) is more concerned with producing a news show that actually means something. When the two discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a big fan of their show, they decide to reach out and conduct an interview that will silence all of their critics. The two are then recruited by the CIA to secretly plan Kim Jong-un's assassination during the interview.
It's easy to see how a ruthless tyrant would be insulted by this movie, but it is clearly one big joke that really would be quickly forgotten without any of its surrounding controversy. Franco and Rogen have great comedic chemistry that is put on full display here. Their humor is crude, tasteless, perverse, and certainly not for everyone. I am not going to write that it is your patriotic duty to see this movie so that the hackers don't win. If you are not into raunchy comedies, then there is no need for you to see this.
For those who are fans of Franco and Rogen's Pineapple Express and This Is The End, then you will most likely find more than a few laughs in this latest film. The relationship between Franco's Skylark and Kim Jong-un is humorous, particularly when they bond over their mutual love for Katy Perry. But it's Franco and Rogen's chemistry that makes this movie work. Plenty of jokes fall flat or are played out by the film's end, but there is still enough here warrant the laughs. However, The Interview is a mediocre comedy that is getting way more attention than it probably deserves.
RATING: B-
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