THE INTERVIEW (R)
Released by Sony Pictures
Review by Adam Mast
News of the hacking situation over at Sony and the subsequent threats of violence at theaters that agreed to show “The Interview” dwarfed the movie itself. After Sony revealed that they were going to cancel the release because of the threats however, “The Interview” appeared to be on everyone’s minds. As you are all now well aware, Sony opted to give the film a limited released on Christmas Day, but not before they offered the movie to several online streaming sources the day before. Now, we’re left to ponder if this was all some elaborate marketing scheme to beef up interest in “The Interview”.
For the record, I believe threats were made, but ultimately, I think Sony saw an opportunity to turn a PR nightmare into a positive, so they took it . Whatever the case may be, if North Korea and Kim Jong-un were in fact behind the supposed threats, I question whether or not they even watched “The Interview” because this flick makes fun of America and our affinity for tabloid television just as much as it makes fun of Kim Jong-un. On the other hand, if “Inglourious Basterds” had come out while Hitler was still alive and in power, I doubt very much the German leader would have taken kindly to it.
In “The Interview”, James Franco plays Dave Skylark– a brash, nutty, somewhat clueless tabloid t.v. talk show personality. Seth Rogen is Aaron Rapaport –Skylark’s slightly more reserved show producer. Rapaport is tired of being the butt of the joke. He wants the Skylark-fronted show to be taken more seriously…like “60 Minutes”. When Rapaport discovers that Kim Jong-un is a rabid Skylark fan, fate comes knocking at the door. Before long, Rapaport and his celebrated talk show host buddy land the interview of a lifetime. Problems arise however, when the U.S. government pop up out of nowhere and assign Skylark and Rapaport a daunting task. That task; Assassinate Kim Jong-un after they arrive in North Korea for the interview.
Yes, “The Interview” is every bit as raunchy as you’d expect from an R rated comedy starring Franco and Rogen. And yes, also as expected, there’s a bromance at the heart of this movie. What you really want to know though is if “The Interview” is funny or not. The answer is, for the most part, yes…It is.
The first half of the picture is a bit rocky. It offers funny moments to be sure. Skylark’s opening interview with Eminem is a scream, and there are a few other scattershot laughs to speak of but at times, Franco is a little too broad, and a little too assholish. Rogen is Rogen. Nothing more, nothing less. As a team, Franco and Rogen still prove to have terrific chemistry, but again, during the first half of the picture, the jokes aren’t quite as plentiful as one might hope for.
But then, “The Interview” settles in at the midway point and once Randall Park shows up as Kim Jong-un, the proceedings become quite inspired. Skylark bonds famously with Kim Jong-un and their union is positively hilarious. I suspect it’s the same sort of relationship Dennis Rodman shares with the infamous dictator in real life. Meanwhile, Rapaport has a bonding of his own with that of Kim Jong-un’s right hand woman, Sook (played by lovely Diana Bang), a sweet-natured gal who questions her own loyalty to the man in charge. As the film progresses, Skylark has to decide whether or not his new found friend is truly a friend or if this is simply the “honeydicking” of the century. Of course, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the answer to that probing question.
The final act of “The Interview” turns into an epic bit of hilarity punctuated by bursts of over te top violence. It’s a high energy fusion of “Pineapple Express” and “Team America: World Police” with a dash of “Spies Like Us” thrown in for good measure, and while I don’t know that this film as a whole is a strong or as consistently funny as those three movies, it’s still a ton of irreverent fun. And, in some ways, even a little bit dangerous. Furthermore, “The Interview” is pretty big in scope, particularly for a comedy. Despite the scale, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg prove to more than competent behind the camera. They showed skill with “This is the End” and they show it again with this film.
Of course, the real key to the overall success of this outrageous comedy is Randall Park. He is beyond inspired in the role of Kim Jong-un. What starts off as a comedic stereo type turns into something much more fulfilling. There has been word that the real Kim Jong-un had his feelings hurt by certain aspects of this movie and as a result, there were elements in “The Interview” that were reportedly altered. If anything, Kim Jong-un should have called Randall Park and thanked him personally for this performance. Then, he should have flown him out to North Korea and thrown a celebration for him. Park is that good in this movie.
In the end, “The Interview” isn’t quite as controversial as one might expect. In fact, amidst all the crude humor, this movie has an unexpected sweetness and charm to it. Yes, “The Interview” takes pot shots at a real life dictator, but in its own affectionate way, it sort of humanizes the guy too. Lighten up Kim, it’s just comedy.
