The
Interview
*
1/2 / ****
Reviewed
By Sean Trolinder
Directed
by Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
Cast:
James Franco, Seth Rogen, Randall Kim, Lizzy Caplan, Diana Bang, Timothy
Simons, Anders Holm
For a Sony movie to anger North
Korea so much that they’d threaten the United States upon its release, you’d
expect it to hit on the correct satirical cords, right? In my many years of
following the film industry, I had never seen a high profile film with so much
publicity get pulled before its release, since by doing so, it is an admission
by the studio that they would lose money. Since the film business is an
industry meant for the mighty dollar, any film with a lucrative budget would be
given a fighter’s chance to earn back its investment, right? For all its
controversy surrounding the film’s comedic portrayal of Kim Jong-un, The Interview is harmless. It is not the
crude humor, the objectification of women, and the same trite jokes that make The Interview an utter disappointment.
It is the fact that the film didn’t do enough to make Kim Jong-un into the
comedic presence that the film demanded.
For such a forgettable film, The Interview has a glorious first five
minutes. The film begins with Dave Skylark (played by James Franco) doing an interview
with the rapper Eminem on Skylark Tonight.
While Dave tries his best to dissect the true meaning behind Eminem’s lyrics,
the rapper admits, rather calmly, that he is gay, which blows up the phone lines
in the control booth. At this moment, the executive producer, Aaron Rapaport
(played by Seth Rogen), begins freaking out, declaring that this is the single
greatest moment in the show’s history. Eminem’s sudden admission elevates
Skylark’s stature momentarily, but only for its celebrity news, which bothers
Rapaport, who desires to produce a serious news show one day.
During another broadcast of Skylark Tonight, one in which Rob Lowe
admits that he’s bald, the show is interrupted by an attack done by North
Korea. Instead of Skylark taking the news to heart, he throws a fit, since the
climactic moment on his show was disturbed by Kim Jong-un’s attempt to be seen
as dangerous. After the interruption, Rapaport takes this as an opportunity to
mull over what an interview between Skylark and Kim Jong-un can do for his
career and how it could change the direction of the show. To his surprise,
Rapaport discovers that Kim Jong-un is a fan of Skylark Tonight, so he tries to pull some strings in order to set
up this exclusive interview.
Then enters the CIA, who predictably
wants Skylark and Rapaport to murder Kim Jong-un with a strip of poison. The
idea is for Skylark to have the strip sitting in his hand while shaking the
dictator’s hand, but it becomes clear to Agent Lacey (played by Lizzy Caplan)
that Skylark is too much of an idiot to pull it off. Regardless, Skylark and
Rapaport are the only two Americans who can be close enough to Kim Jong-un to
even attempt this. Before going to North Korea, Agent Lacey warns the duo that
Kim Jong-un can be very manipulative, so be careful. Naturally, when Skylark meets
Kim Jong-un (played by Randall Kim), they begin developing a friendship.
Skylark learns that this man, who Americans consider a threat to the world, is
actually a softy, since he enjoys drinking margaritas and listening to Katy
Perry songs. After traveling around in Kim’s tank and shooting some hoops,
Skylark believes that Kim Jong-un is harmless, but Rapaport, who still clings
to this idea that his career is at stake based on what happens in North Korea,
tries to convince Skylark not to become too attached, since they still must
kill the man.
Compared to This is the End, a film in which the celebrities were making fun of
the personas the media made them out to be, directors Evan Goldberg and Seth
Rogen try too hard to make the satire work in The Interview. Part of the reason This is the End worked as a satire is because the performers
involved were having entirely too much fun playing up their alter-ego selves,
but in this case, Franco and Rogen seem as if they struggle to make the comedic
moments work, especially in the North Korean scenes. In addition, Franco’s
comedic timing has regressed from his time in Pineapple Express. For an actor who has put together stellar
dramatic work in In the Valley of Elah,
Milk, and 127 Hours, I have to wonder why he chooses to make so many B-level
comedies. Also, the ending of The
Interview is rather predictable and Rapaport’s storyline disappears for
quite a while once Kim Jong-un enters the film. As far as characterization goes,
Rapaport is made out as the one who has the most to lose from this mission, so
why the film gives a moron like Skylark so much focus is a bit perplexing.
In the grand scheme of things, James
Franco and Seth Rogen will continue to make comedies, since they are box office
draws. However, both have done better work together, so resorting to a film
that depends so much on cliché jokes about pooping and how females are
seductress manipulators wastes their talents.
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