The thing about me is that I have no problem with crude humor as long as it's funny. And I find Seth Rogen's comedies really funny. This is the End was my favorite comedy last year, while Neighbors tops the list in 2014. Yes, it's vulgar and stupid kind of humor but it works.There were many hilarious moments in The Interview, whether it's a suggestion about McConaughey's goat activities, Franco's furious war cry in the tank or the whole tiger situation. It's not for everyone, but I had great time and I won't feel bad or apologize for having great time. We can't just have super serious movies out there. We would go nuts.
While the story is something that you can expect from Rogen and Goldberg - hell, Franco's character even describes how the movie is gonna end at one point, much like with This is the End - the story itself is really ballsy. A lot of people question whether a movie like this should be made. This is not a question you should ever ask. Not in this day and age. Spare us the concern for dictator's feelings.
I was surprised that there were moments in this film that actually felt quite powerful - the whole interview sequence is really brilliant but its best moment is when Dave stops the orchestrated line of questioning and asks Kim head on why doesn't he feed his people. After a lot of anus, dick and weed jokes this kind of moment really stands out.The film gets a boost from having really likable leads. While Dave is a bit annoying he is still very likable - who can dislike the guy whose primary concern during combat is the safety of a puppy? Franco was really good, I haven't seen him disappear so much into character since Pineapple Express. He has great comedy timing and he sells the film's most absurd moments. Rogen is doing his usual here but I adore his usual. He is effortlessly likable in every movie he is in.
Randall Park from HBO's Veep comes close to stealing the movie as Kim. It's a difficult role but he nails it and he is actually gonna be in my supporting actor line up. Diana Bang is all sorts of badass as Kim's soldier lady. Lizzy Caplan comes of as a bit too stiff but her role didn't ask for much. The big asset are the supporting roles and cameos - Eminem, Rob Lowe, Joseph Gordon Lewitt and Parks and Rec's Jean Ralphio are here while Timothy Simons from Veep is hilarious as always.And that puppy. My God, that puppy!
The film also has bitchin' soundtrack - I think they successfully immortalized Katy Perry's Firework and they even had Scorpions' Wind of Change here. The visual effects and cinematography are really amazing for a comedy movie. In fact many times during carnage scenes I was reminded of Tarantino's Kill Bill films and Inglorious Bastards. I think he would dig that movie.
The thing that is almost as crazy and saddening as the whole cyber attack situation are the claims about this movie. That it is racist. That it's offensive. That no matter what Kim Jong Un does he doesn't deserve such treatment. That it's not funny. I'm not even gonna dignify the comments that pity the dictator. This is not high brow humor, but it's an amusing film. Whether people like it or not this movie is now a symbol of freedom of expression.Within minutes of its VOD release it's spread through Internet like wildfire. It's such a great thing because no one should dictate to anyone what movies they should and should not watch. But if you do not like this kind of humour don't waste your time watching it and don't waste anyone else's bitching about it on social media and writing ignorant, misinformed and pathetic statements about it. Right now the film is on a shortlist for Razzie Awards which is also saddening - they just show one more time that in terms of an organization they have less integrity than some common whore. They are just doing this for publicity and doing a lot of harm, they may as well wave "Kim don't hurt us, we hated the movie!" flag.
Maybe Franco and Rogen just got high and decided to do this movie. Or maybe they wanted to be brave and do this movie. Either way - it took some balls to make it and get that film out there. And I'm really glad they did that.
Plot: Dave Skylark and producer Aaron Rapoport run the celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight." When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, they are recruited by the CIA to turn their trip to Pyongyang into an assassination mission.
Directors: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Writers: Dan Sterling (screenplay), Seth Rogen (story),
Stars:James Franco, Seth Rogen, Randall Park
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