Starring: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Randall Park
Directed by: Evan Goldberg (“This is the Endâ€) and Seth Rogen (“This is the Endâ€)
Written by: Dan Sterling (debut)
Following a bizarre amalgamation of Hollywood controversy and serious political incidents over the last six months, Sony Pictures, in a quick and unforeseen move after pulling “The Interview†from its docket for a Christmas Day release, decided to drop the film on a handful of VOD platforms Christmas Eve afternoon, and allow theaters that still wanted to screen their film on Dec. 25 to do so. What changed the minds of Sony executives is still unclear (Barack Obama’s wagging finger of disappointment? George Clooney’s smackdown on Sony via – ironically – an interview with Deadline), but at least moviegoers (and VOD users) can put everything behind them and enjoy a classic assassination comedy comprised of enough jokes about assholes to make your grandma blush this holiday season.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, “The Interview†stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapaport, a host and producer of a fluff TV show where getting celebrities to drop juicy TMZ-worthy bombshells is the name of the game. When Dave and Aaron find out they have been given the opportunity to interview North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, they jump at the chance to do some real journalism. The CIA, however, step in and insists that Dave and Aaron kill the North Korean leader during their planned visit.
Although inconsistent with its humor, there are major portions of “The Interview†that are gut-busting funny, especially during the first half where we’re introduced to Dave and Aaron and what their TV job entails and the set up for their trip to North Korea. Franco and Rogen play off one another with ease even when some of the jokes barely register and when the middle part of the movie begins to drag. Keeping up with both is actor Randall Park who plays Jong-un just as the script asks – a lonely and oftentimes sympathetic character that is also lined with playboy tendencies and venom running through his veins, which doesn’t figure into the story until the third act. It’s an interesting and somewhat bold characterization for Jong-un by screenwriter Dan Sterling, who could’ve taken the easy route and made him the kind of fat, pouting diaper-baby Americans love to imagine he is. Sterling finds a lot more comedy in scenes where Dave and Jong-un can pal around and find they have things in common with each other before the shit hits the fan.
Don’t expect some sort of biting satire about the evils of North Korea and the real-life insane man that runs the country. Directors Evan Goldberg and Rogen aren’t those kind of storytellers (if that were the case, we would’ve seen some damning message in their Book of Revelations-inspired comedy “This is the Endâ€). Instead, go into “The Interview†expecting pop culture references to be at an all-time high, hilarious one-liners and someone sticking something large up their rectum. Wouldn’t we be in a better place if that combination was the catalyst for fostering peace and security across the globe?