The Interview

Thanks to the cyber-warfare launched against Sony and the terrorist threats from North Korea, this controversial black comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen achieved instant notoriety. Unfortunately, to paraphrase Shakespeare, The Interview turns out to be much ado about very little. Sleazy TV interviewer Dave Skylark (Franco) and his buddy, producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen), are tabloid journalists who specialize in celebrity interviews. When these mega-morons learn that North Korean dictator Kim Jung-un (Randall Park) is a fan of the show, they arrange for an interview. “This will be as big as Frosty Nixon,” Dave enthuses. In short order, the pair are recruited by manipulative CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) to use their visit to Pyongyang as an opportunity to assassinate the notoriously humorless, thirtysomething Supreme Leader. Rogen, who directed along with Evan Goldberg, plays the straight man, while Franco overdoes his caricature of a dimwit TV host who is far more concerned with popularity than credibility. Opening with a sweet little North Korean girl singing a song about launching nuclear war against the United States, the provocative premise is never truly developed, and the farce quickly fizzles in this would-be political satire. Libraries will likely want to pick up because of the film's incredible impact on world affairs, but this sophomoric slob-comedy full of repetitive potty jokes fails to live up to its hype. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the behind-the-scenes featurette “Naked and Afraid” with Rogen and costar James Franco (14 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted and alternate scenes (26 min.), the production featurettes “Directors of This Movie” (7 min.) and “Spies Among Us” (7 min.), costar Randall Park's audition tape (6 min.), the behind-the-scenes segments “Here Kitty Kitty” (5 min.), “Getting Into Character” with Park (5 min.), “Puppy Power” (2 min.), and “Joking Around” (2 min.), three “Line-O-Rama” segments (10 min.), a gag reel (7 min.), a brief “Dating a Dictator” clip, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fairly lame comedy that sparked international tension.] (S. Granger)