The Interview (Quick Review)

With such hype and controversy surrounding it, The Interview has clearly not lived up to its reputation.

In fairness it’s not a bad film like The Green Hornet, nor is it unfunny like Guilt Trip, but compared to last year’s This is the End (one of my favorite films of 2013), The Interview is nothing more than fairly mediocre entertainment.  Even dealing with such a controversial theme as North Korea (with endless comedic possibilities and shockers), The Interview feels relatively tame and held back; even its explosive ending lacks the impact one would expect (the most shocking thing about The Interview was how they got Eminem to satirically admit he’s gay…at least I assume it’s satire).  There are also issues with the camerawork; scene transitions feel rushed and sudden, moving hastily along with very choppy editing.  Seth Rogen films have a natural habit of creating likable characters and bonds, yet The Interview’s haste gives very little time for any such development; instead Dave (James Franco) and Aaron’s (Seth Rogen) bond comes more from the actors’ real friendship rather than their characters.

The majority of The Interview’s comedy fits in the “so stupid it’s funny” category; there’s little wit in its jokes, instead using crude and straightforward execution humor relying on awkwardness and its uncomfortable subject matter; some of it works, while the rest…not so much.  Yet even when failing, The Interview strangely works on a very immature and silly level.  Jokes such as Dave assuming a tiger has night vision goggles or Aaron asking Kim Jong-un’s guard how she ended up working for a dictatorship (in a very casual manner) are to put bluntly, really stupid; they work however thanks to Rogen and Franco’s silly charm.  There are also jokes which match the level of Rogen’s better films (though few and far between); the opening scene with Eminem is delightfully bizarre and hilarious, and some of our protagonists’ conversations had me cracking up good (such as when they need to search their room for bugs).  Props likewise need to be given for the balanced ratio of boy to girl nudity/kiss scenes, something which hasn't been done much since the early Monty Python era.  The Interview fails its hype and controversy, being one the weakest Seth Rogen comedies; yet it’s not a bad film, and has its fair share of funny (though simplistic) jokes.  Simply put, The Interview is an underwhelming film which wasted comedic controversial gold on a tame and unexceptional plot.  See it if you want, but don’t expect anything other than a decent way to kill two hours.