The Interview (2014)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Lizzy Caplan

Running time: 112 minutes

The host and the producer of Skylark Tonight, a talk show mostly known for discussing personal matters in celebrities’ lives and gossip, score a major coup when they manage to book an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, after finding out that he is a fan of their show. The next day, a CIA agent recruits the two men to assassinate the dictator during their trip overseas.

This political satire caused uproar because of its subject matter and the portrayal of Kim Jong-un. The announcement of its release was met with threats of terrorist attacks, which lead Sony to concentrate mostly on online release for rental or purchase. A limited release in select cinemas followed.

The controversy surrounding this movie created a huge buzz that overshadowed anything it could have delivered. In the end, the film offers an interesting look at the media and at Kim Jong-un. The Interview is done in great part to get laughs, and it does a very uneven job of it, at least for me. Franco and Rogen were good, and so was the supporting cast, but many jokes fell kind of flat. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I was hoping for something funnier. That being said, this movie had its moments and it deserves a passing grade in my book.

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