The Interview
I don’t think anyone expected “The Interview” to be one of the most written about films of 2014, let alone Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who directed the film, and co-wrote the story with screenwriter Dan Sterling. But that’s what happens, I guess, when you make a movie about the assassination of one of the world’s most twisted leaders, and the studio behind it gets hacked, purportedly because of the film, leading to a potential international incident. I don’t know whether North Korea was actually behind the Sony hacking scandal that led the studio to change course with the release of “The Interview,” or whether it was disgruntled employee, or whether it was all just a rouse to drum up publicity for the film– honestly, all three feel possible (though I would seriously doubt the latter, given the legal implications of such a gamble), but the film got out there, and has been seen. Now, audiences get to decide for themselves whether it was all worth the attention.
Let’s talk about the film. As most everyone knows by now, “The Interview” stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapoport, the host, and producer (respectively), of a tabloid entertainment show, and when we first see them, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of news stories, specializing in sensationalism like a surprise revelation by Eminem (in a wicked cameo) that he’s gay. At a party celebrating their thousandth episode together, Aaron says hi to a producer friend of his who is working over at “60 Minutes,” and realizes he wants to do more with his life than just report on what Dave and he have been reporting on. Aaron convinces Dave to try and tread more serious journalistic waters, and almost on cue, Dave discovers that he has a “superfan” in North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. The pair manage to arrange an interview with the leader, and are then visited by the CIA, and agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan), who recruit Dave and Aaron to poison the leader. Does it go without saying that things don’t go exactly according to plan, or is that just implied by this point?
Watching the movie, it’s honestly hard to see what all the fuss is about. I get why North Korea, and Kim Jong-un, would be upset, but it’s obvious from the outset that this is a loony comedy not intended to be taken seriously. The notion of the CIA putting a plan like this in motion to take out a world leader feels very absurd– one would expect a more ingenious, less high-profile effort than enlisting two tabloid reporters who just HAPPEN to get an audience with an isolated leader. (Of course, reading that back, I thought back to “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” and the outrageous claims made by game show host Chuck Barris, who claimed to be a CIA agent.) The film has a lot in common with Rogen and Goldberg’s “This is the End,” which set itself in sort of an alternate universe, and heightened reality, to make some comments on celebrity and friendship, even if it did take place during an apocalypse. In “The Interview,” North Korea and Kim Jong-un are props for them to use to tell a story of the fine line between journalism and entertainment, and how self-conscious high-profile individuals can be, and the emotional barriers they set up around themselves to deal with their notoriety. We’re a long way from the likes of “Dr. Strangelove” or “The Great Dictator” or “Wag the Dog” here– while it may seem to be political satire, “The Interview” has more in common with “The Pineapple Express” and “Superbad” than those films, making it’s subject matter all the more daring, or simply more perplexing to it’s detractors.
This was a very funny movie, from the opening scene (of a little girl singing a song about Dear Leader, and Evil America) to the wild race to prevent nuclear launch, and get out of the country, that finishes the movie. One of the things I like about Rogen and Goldberg’s films, especially this and “This is the End,” is how loose and silly they manage to be. They aren’t always drop-to-the-floor hysterical, but when they hit on just the right comedic note, there are few people who are funnier. By now, Rogen and Franco have a genuine chemistry together that makes it impossible not to believe these two characters have known each other for a long time. As their CIA handler, Caplan (best known now for “The Masters of Sex”) has some funny moments, but the show is all but stolen by Randall Park as this movie’s Kim Jong-un. This is a portrait of the leader as someone who is insecure to the point of positioning himself as a god to his people, who puts on the face of a stern dictator for the cameras (and, to be fair, backs it up with his actions), but has a soft spot for Katy Perry, mad skills on the basketball court (inspired by the real-life visits by Dennis Rodman?), and margaritas, even though his father has told him they were “gay.” This is about as perfect a caricature as the one Trey Parker and Matt Stone painted of Kim Jong-Il in their “Team America: World Police,” and it is risky business, especially when you consider the very real human rights violations Jong-un perpetrates against his own people, which are hinted at in the film, but not really explored. “The Interview” isn’t after finding a geopolitical solution to the tyranny taking place in the real North Korea, and it doesn’t take pot shots at it, either. This is a broad comedy about two idiots who, inexplicably, are tasked with a mission to assassinate a head of state. If that log line turns you off, this movie isn’t for you. If it gets your attention, buckle up for a wild and crazy comedic ride.
