The Interview will
perhaps go down as having one of the most bizarre releases in cinematic
history, and that reputation will probably overshadow anything actually in the
film itself. I don’t want to get into
the politics and international ramifications of the North Korean Sony hack or
the right to free speech, as my opinions on such are not really relevant to
whether the film is good or not.
However, it is worth acknowledging that current events have propelled
this film into the limelight, with viewing the film constituting a certain cult
status among those wishing to display their patriotism and uphold Sony’s First
Amendment rights. But it is important to
realize that the film itself isn’t advocating any of those things, and is, in
fact, just another in a long line of Rogen/Franco bromance comedies that just
happens to have Kim Jong-un as its villain.
Dave Skylark (James Franco) is the host of an entertainment
news show, backed up by his producer, Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen). Upon learning that the dictator of North
Korea, Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), is a huge fan of the show, Skylark and
Rapoport contact the dictator for a ratings- and credibility-boosting
interview. After their on-air
announcement of the coming show, the CIA contacts Skylark and Rapoport with the
intention of sending them to assassinate Kim.
From there, shenanigans ensue, due to Skylark’s buffoonish egomania and
gullibility and Rapoport’s self-effacing attempts to keep the mission on-track.
All in all, this is pretty standard stuff, and if you’ve
seen anything that Franco and Rogen have collaborated on in the past (Pineapple Express, This Is The End, etc.), then you know what you’re in for here. This is a bro comedy, with two
well-intentioned bumbling guys getting into stoner antics that involve
pop-cultural references, physical slapstick, and gross-out humor. And the film does admirably at that, even if
this is neither performer’s A-game.
Randall Park takes a pretty good turn as the infamous dictator, though
Kim is portrayed with all the subtlety of a Saturday morning cartoon.
And really, that’s sorta the point. There was no geo-political message in mind
when Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote and directed this film. This was just an excuse to get together with
some friends and have a good time making a movie, and this was the comedic
scenario that they came up with. Sure,
the film does try to treat the plight of the North Korean people with a degree
of respect, emphasizing their famine at the hands of a self-proclaimed
god. But this isn’t portrayed with the
intention of rallying the U.S. to Korean aid; it acts as an impetus for the
resolution of Skylark’s and Kim’s character arcs, the straw that divides the
two after scenes of partying and bro-ing it up.
The point wasn’t to tell an intense polemic or even to make a political
statement about North Korea that wasn’t already part of the average American
consumer’s understanding of the Kim dynasty.
Hell, there probably isn’t much more anti-Kim propoganda here than Team America: World Police, a film that
also portrayed a Kim as an over-the-top mustache-twirler only because their
reputation makes it so easy to do so. This
is just a bunch of actors poking fun at a world leader, a world leader that
already has pop-culture notoriety for his bizarre proclivities and antics.
So is The Interview
worth watching? Yeah, I’d say it is,
though if you’re looking for a good Rogen/Franco buddy comedy, this is probably
their worst one yet. But if you’re
looking to show solidarity by using your credit card to metaphorically raise
your middle finger at Kim Jong-un, I’m sorry to say that this film probably wasn’t
as scathing as he thought it was. It’s
just a pretty average comedy, one that was only made noteworthy by the threats
to its accessibility. That legacy will
far outlast any jokes that are actually shown on-screen, and maybe that’s the
biggest joke of all.
North Korean Sony hack controversy. Chat away in the comments below.
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