Seth Rogen and James Franco give us a comedic take on the political turmoil surrounding North Korea and the U.S. The film has caused a surge worldwide, with its cancellation and announcement of its availability early Christmas Eve almost a week later. With the film being released in select theaters and on Xbox Video, YouTube and Google Play, accrued fans were able to get a bite of the forbidden fruit as a Christmas ploy by Sony.
James Franco and Seth Rogen play talk show host Dave Skylark and producer Aaron Rapaport, respectively, for Skylark Tonight, a celebrity gossip and talk show with revelations deep secrets from the likes of Eminem and Rob Lowe. Think Entertainment Tonight and TMZ. Rapaport is presented an offer for an exclusive interview with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un (Randall Park), who is a fan of Skylark Tonight. After procuring the interview, the duo is visited by the CIA, among them Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan), who proposes a plan to assassinate the North Korean leader with a ricin-coated handshake.
The Interview has the blueprints of Rogen and Evan Goldberg from start to finish, who have worked previously on a handful of films, including Superbad, This Is the End and Pineapple Express. The dynamic duo that is Rogen and Franco delivers its carbon-copy of dick, ethnicity and gay jokes. Its constant delivery of that humor pales in comparison to a Family Guy or South Park episode, and as a fan of both, I can say I cracked a few laughs here and there. One of those scenes had Aaron and Sook (Diana Bang) in a heated encounter of the lips and skin. I have to give props to Diana Bang, who had me cracking up in most of her scenes. If there was someone who stole the show in this film, it was definitely her. Another great mention is Randall Park, who gave it his all as the half-wit dictator.
The film itself rushed into the plot. The character development was already established, considering Rogen and Franco were playing themselves, or at least the same characters as previous films. Lizzy Caplan is always a delight to watch on-screen, as her wit and charm surprisingly fit the film. Another awe was the violence and gore, aspiring to a Quentin Tarantino film. And as silly as it was, The Interview struggled to be as outrageous as it could, something Team America: World Police accomplished, given its similar material.
The Interview is a patriotic comedy film that serves one purpose: to make light of the autocracy in North Korea, whilst making Kim Jong Un an utterly unlikeable, psychotic clown. A margarita loving and repressed Katy Perry fan, Kim Jong Un was right to be offended, though that leaves us with even more to laugh about. And thanks to Kim himself, The Interview will only continue to be successful and memorable for a long time to come.
