HOLLYWOOD—It had to be one of the most talked about movies this holiday season, “The Interview.” This was not a flick on my list to see, but all the buzz surrounding the film peaked my interest. I mean it resulted in the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment and a film being pulled from theaters, to eventually return amidst outrage.
So what is all the hype about this comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen? Well not much. It’s a satire of sorts that puts the spotlight on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Let’s just say North Korea was no fan of the movie, but it sheds a bit of hilarity to the notorious leader of a country that has always had a bad rap.
Franco portrays Dave Skylark, host of Skylark Tonight, and his producer is Aaron Rapoport. It’s a show where celebrities tend to reveal salacious secrets to the audience. Think of all the celebrity entertainment shows and push the envelope to about 100 and this is what you get.
As the show prepares to celebrate their 1,000th episode, Dave and Aaron learn that Kim is a big fan of their series. This prompts the CIA to get involved; as they think they can infiltrate the North Korean regime and take out the notorious leader.
A big portion of the movie has been unveiled to the audience via the movie trailer and the TV spots. Lizzy Caplan has a somewhat odd role as CIA agent Lacey. The majority of the laughs delivered in my opinion are a bunch of gross-out and over the top moments that could go either way with audiences. Either you’ll explode in laughter or cringe with the gag-factor.
Randall Park does an exceptional job embodying Kim. As a nation, we only know what we know about the North Korean leader based on what has been depicted in the media. This film highlights a ‘leader’ who might be misunderstood. Park is actually the star of the movie delivering laughs that will cause one to shed tears.
Rogen and his producing partner Evan Goldberg do solid work behind the camera. While “The Interview” is satirical in nature, I had hopes that the film would have been even funnier than the marketing displayed by the movie. The issue with “The Interview” is a ton of the laughs that take place in the movie, you’ve already seen without even seeing the movie.
