Wow, what a bumpy road it has been. For a while there, it seemed like none of us would be able to view The Interview quite possibly ever. Luckily, Sony manned up, stuck their middle fingers to North Korea, and are inviting us to join them in solidarity. The Interview has been released to select theaters and on Youtube. Like it or not, this whole debacle has turned The Interview into a film that is bigger than what it is, it's become a symbol now. Would it ever have become as popular and big as it is now if it weren't for North Korea's overblown reaction to the film? Quite possibly not, but the only question that really matters now is this : is The Interview any good? Was it worth the hype, turmoil, and danger?
In The Interview; moronic, self-obsessed celebrity interviewer and host of his own talk show (and a huge fan of Lord of The Rings) Dave Skylark (James Franco) is invited to North Korea to interview self-proclaimed fan Kim Jong-un (Randall Park). His best friend and producer, Aaron Rapaport (Seth Rogen) tags along for the ride. Before they can take off for that most dangerous of countries, they are visited by the US Government. Seeing how almost no one is ever given one on one time alone with Kim Jong Un, The US Gov has a very big request for these two: Assassinate Kim Jong-un and win one for freedom and democracy. The task becomes even more difficult when Skylark begins to form a bro-mantic relationship with Kim Jong-un. Is Kim Jong-un not the villain that the news would make him out to be, or is Skylark just the latest victim of Kim Jong-un's manipulative ways?
Randall Parks is perfect (and hilarious and scary) as Kim Jong-un, and Diana Bang is pretty good as Sook; the head of propaganda for North Korea. Lizzy Caplan has little screen time as agent Lacey, who works for the CIA and is the one who seduces both Skylark and Rapaport to the job. Caplan is super hot, and quite funny, making her few scenes stand out. All that said, this is really the Franco/Rogen show. They make for quite the dynamic duo here, most of their scenes are pretty hilarious (especially when they share the screen), and the film reminded me of why they are two of the funniest men in America. Franco plays the bumbling, ego-crazed moron exceptionally well and Rogen does fine work as the straight man of the group.
So, is The Interview funny? Yes, it is hilarious for most of the run time but that is only one of the reasons why it is great. The other reason would be that The Interview comes with some pretty interesting subtext. For the first act of the film, when we are safe inside the USA, the film takes a fairly harsh (but comedic) look at entertainment news. Rogen's Aaron Rapaport feels like he isn't making a difference in America, and would like Skylark to try his hand at more serious stuff (which naturally comes when Skylark is offered the interviewing chance of a lifetime).
During the second half, when Franco and Rogen are entrenched deep inside North Korea, the film satirizes Kim Jong-un. The Interview takes every chance to mercilessly mock Kim, painting him to be a power hungry mad man who lives the life of a spoiled rich kid while actually being an insecure daddy's boy who only wanted his father's approval. It's not hard to see why Kim Jong-un would so harshly oppose this film. The Interview does not paint a rose colored portrait of the dictator, and quite likely The Interview is pretty accurate with it's portrayal of him. I commend Rogen, Franco, Evan Goldberg (The film's director), and Dan Sterling (the films screenwriter) for taking on such a ballsy project and not backing down or blushing when push came to shove. The Interview is a film that hates Kim Jong-un, dictators, and totalitarian states with a passion and it does not back down from it's attack and satirization of these things (and person).
It's refreshing to see a film that can effectively tackle some pretty serious issues while still being a wacky, crazy, silly comedy. The Interview does exactly this. It's not just a funny film, it is also surprisingly smart. I'd say it is certainly worth a watch.
4 STARS
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