Amid all the craziness with hackers, threats, and abrupt removal from wide theatrical release, it became a patriotic duty for some Americans to find a way to watch The Interview. Having done so through my usual legal channels, I’m confused as to what the (presumably) North Korean hackers found so offensive. Yes, there’s an unflattering portrayal of Kim Jong Un, played well by Randall Kim as a party animal and sadist with a hidden soft side. However, the satire is limited and nothing that hasn’t already been seen on SNL skits or late night talk show monologues.
While one might assume Kim Jong Un would be the film’s biggest idiot, that honor instead belongs to TV host Dave Skylark. Sporting an impressive variety of hilarious facial expressions, James Franco is decently funny. On the occasions Franco overplays the man child act, Seth Rogan is on hand to tone his buddy down as the straight man; the leading duo play off each other pretty well.
The opening of The Interview, which mocks pop culture fluff news and the absurdity and pretentiousness that often accompanies it, is the best part. There’s also some investment in Rogan’s TV producer character and his desire for the show to be about more than just celebrity gossip. That’s not to say the meat of the story in North Korea is a dud; it’s just not as funny or compelling as the setup in America. There are jabs at the ruling regime’s propaganda machine, with its claims of zero poverty and their leader lacking the need to piss or shit, but as a whole they are a bit uninspired and take a back seat to Franco and Rogan’s antics. During the eponymous interview, the movie promisingly opts to expose Kim Jong Un for his lies – not about his country but himself – then squanders things in an over the top finale. It doesn’t work and feels anticlimactic despite all the gunfire, explosions, and chewed off fingers.
Stripped of all the controversy surrounding its release, The Interview is a passable comedy that generates some laughs. There’s just a feeling of some missed opportunities. A few years from now I suspect it will be vaguely remembered as “that North Korea movie” that got banned and little else.
Dogomon 