PLOT: Dave Skylark (James Franco), host of a talk show, and producer, Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen), get an interview with Kim Jong-Un, dictator of North Korea. The CIA asks them to kill Kim. They become the least qualified men to ever assassinate.
REVIEW: With all of the controversy surrounding THE INTERVIEW over the last few weeks, there is an incredible amount of support coming from the public who have yet to see the film. Some are likely expecting a biting satire of North Korea and politics in general while others are anticipating a terrible movie not worth their time of day. The verdict: neither would be correct. THE INTERVIEW is exactly what you would expect a movie pairing Seth Rogen and James Franco to be.
THE INTERVIEW is going to be compared to the last Rogen/Franco pairing, THIS IS THE END, which is the better overall movie but was more of an ensemble picture. Here you get the same round of celebrity cameos (including a great one from Eminem) and lots of pop culture references. Rogen and Franco continue their on screen bromance unabated, but THE INTERVIEW is completely James Franco's movie. Rogen largely plays the straight man to Franco's vapid TV celebrity who delivers numerous one-liners you will undoubtedly be quoting with your friends long after you leave the theater.
The movie itself is not the political powderkeg we have been led to believe. THE INTERVIEW is comprised of drugs, breasts, and a wide array of butt, dick, and shit jokes. There is not a whole lot of depth here beyond what is on the screen, but that doesn't make it any less of a hilarious couple of hours. I found myself replaying scenes multiple times just to make sure I heard the lines right. There are pretty impressive production values here as the movie looks like it could have been shot in North Korea, or at least what we all envision of the isolated nation.
The supporting cast here is fairly solid despite not getting too much to do. Lizzy Caplan as CIA agent Lacey and Diana Bang as Sook offer some funny moments but mainly exist as eye candy. Randall Park has the thankless job of playing Kim Jong-un as a demented man child and master manipulator, but pulls off the feat staying on even footing with Franco's Dave Skylark throughout the film. There are several moments where you truly cannot tell if he is a misunderstood man portrayed as a monster or really the devil we all assume he is. I'm sure North Korea and the real Supreme Leader would not like the way he's portrayed in the film but there is nothing here worse than what Trey Parker and Matt Stone did to Kim Jong-il in TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE.
Sony may have made a wise choice in releasing THE INTERVIEW on demand rather than a standard theatrical release as this is exactly the type of movie that has a strong shelf life on Blu-ray and works best with a bunch of friends and some drinks. I am sure we will be talking about tigers, fake fruit, and severed fingers for a long time to come. Is THE INTERVIEW a great movie? No, but it was never meant to be. This is a fun and laugh out loud comedy full of memorable and outrageous moments that will keep you entertained throughout the ride.
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