“The Interview,” the highly anticipated satirical film with duo Seth Rogen and James Franco, falls short of the hype that accompanied its release.
Rogen plays Aaron Rapoport, the producer of a fictional entertainment TV show “Skylark Tonight.” Franco plays the role of the show’s host Dave Skylark. After copious drinking and more than a few butt jokes, Rapoport secures an interview with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea. Cue the entrance of a well-endowed CIA agent, a tumult of toilet humor and the movie’s central plot: Rapoport and Skylark must assassinate Kim Jong-un (Randall Park).
Skylark is a moronic character who produces trashy television and cannot tell the difference between the words “ain’t us” and “anus.” Rapoport, big, bumbling and dumb, is no intellectual himself, but somehow acts as Skylark’s voice of reason.
The female love interest is fairly forgettable: a sexually repressed North Korean secret agent simply named Sook (played by Diana Bang). Her severity soon melts away for the less-than-enticing American man Rapoport.
As strange as it is to say — Kim Jong-un may have been the best, or at least the most unique, character in the movie. His ironic love for Katy Perry, secretly soft heart and admiration for all things American, including Dave Skylark, is comedic gold.
Needless to say, most of the humor is pretty low-grade, but the chemistry between Franco and Rogen makes most of it worth it. “The Interview” is reminiscent of 2008’s “Pineapple Express,” with a new setting and a few different stereotypes sprinkled in.
Was it worth hacking a major company to attempt to block the movie? Or a presidential remark decrying the company for pulling the movie? Not in the slightest, but if you’re looking for a fun romp through a modern political comedy, “The Interview” is a pretty good choice.
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