The Interview Review

Can you think of a movie that could be called more controversial than The Interview? Did you ever imagine that a dictator from another country would threaten the United States with terrorist attacks if they released a movie into theaters? This is unprecedented. I think this would've actually been less of a big deal if everyone just ignored North Korea in the first place. I mean seriously, what can North Korea actually do to us? The threat they gave was that they were going to attack every theater that showed this movie. Really? Really?!?!?! How many theaters are there in the United States that were planning on showing this movie? Somewhere around 3,000? This attack would not have been possible. All the theater chains should've done nothing. They should've let the move come and people should've gone to the theaters unphased. But no. All theaters chicken out, causing Sony to make the weird decision to pull the movie. Criticism ensued by lots of people, including the President Obama. Rightfully so. That was a stupid decision because it gave North Korea the idea in mind that they had won. And what message would that give to other terrorists? That they can just threaten the United States with ridiculously absurd threats that would be impossible to realistically implement and we'll just give in? Smart move Sony. Luckily they manned up and put it back in theaters. Kinda. Only 331 theaters took it. Once again, stupid. But Sony made the smart move and came up with agreements to release the movie on Google Play, YouTube, and VOD for about the price of a matinee ticket so that everyone could have access. 

What does all these mean? Well, when all is said and done, Sony should be ecstatic. You can't buy this type of attention. They originally had an average at best comedy on their hands that has suddenly become a must see for many. I'll admit, I got sucked into this. The Interview is the type of movie that I usually avoid. I mean, I see a lot of movies, but one genre you will almost never see on my blog is a raunchy comedy. I just don't find this type of humor clever, creative, unique, or funny at all. But because of all this fuss, I rented this movie on Google Play to give it a watch. Even though it's not my type of movie, I guess you can say I watched it to make a statement. A statement that says I'm afraid of stupid threats from North Korea. I was also legitimately curious to see how the movie actually turned out. After seeing the movie, I can say that this whole situation is even more ridiculous. This is the movie that sparked all this controversy? Really? Kim Jong-un is an idiot. Why? Well, there's many responses to that. But in this case, he is an idiot for even throwing a fuss about this movie coming out. This is just a stupid movie with a stupid premise made by stupid people.

In case you haven't heard anything about The Interview, or you are reading this in the distant future wanting to know what all the fuss was about, The Interview is a movie directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen and stars Seth Rogen and James Franco. Franco plays the host of a celebrity news program while Seth Rogen is his main producer. The two come to learn that Kim Jong-un is a huge fan of the show, so they set out to have him on the show so they can interview him. After Rogen calls them up, North Korea agrees to an interview in North Korea, so the two set out to go to North Korea to do this interview. Before they head out, the CIA contacts them and sets up this plan for Rogen and Franco to assassinate Kim Jong-un. One of the things that I found especially interesting about this movie is the fact that this isn't just a jab at North Korea and their crazy leader. This movie takes a huge jab at the media in the United States. All the tabloids in the grocery store check-out aisles are full of ridiculous, pointless news that for some reason we as a country are fascinated with. And not just there, but just go look on the internet and see the trending stories on whatever social media or search engine you please. On facebook this morning, there was a story on the trending section about how Dustin Diamond, the former Saved by the Bell star, was arrested in Wisconsin for having a switchblade. Who the heck cares? The other day, the big story was how Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter split. Sometimes the things we consider "news" is ridiculous and this movie assaults that front hardcore. But that's not all, in addition to attacking North Korea and the news media, it also attacks the CIA in similar ways.

So yeah, all things considered, this whole controversy is just stupid because this isn't just a movie attacking North Korea. Now if I'm ignoring the whole controversy, the overall point of a comedy is such that it is supposed to make me laugh. Did it? Yes, actually. In a few parts. But if I'm watching a comedy, I do expect to laugh a whole lot more than I did in this movie. Most of it is stupid comedy that I don't find funny. Some might though. The personality of Franco and Rogen's characters make a dynamic that should be entertaining for some. Franco plays the bonehead while Rogen plays the serious one. They have their moments. I've never really been a fan of Rogen personally. Occasionally he shows up in various movies and does a decent job, but when he's in his comfort zone doing things he enjoys, I really don't think he's that great. Franco on the other hand is a mixed bag. He does do a lot of stupid roles like in this, but he also has a lot of serious roles where he does do a great job. So he's hit and miss.

Overall, this whole situation is just ridiculous. First off, the world would've been better off if this movie just was not made. I don't know why the makers of this movie thought that this was a good idea. But oh well. It's here and there's nothing I can do about. Nor would I want to do anything about it because I appreciate the fact that people can make whatever movie they want. I wish that North Korea would've just shut up about the whole thing and spared us all this drama. But since they did, I don't regret my decision to spend money on this movie because I felt like I sent my message that I'm not afraid of some stupid North Korea threat. If you feel like doing the same thing, I'm not going to stop you. Go ahead. Just know that this movie is a really stupid movie. If you are the one that decides you just want to ignore the whole situation, you'll probably be the one that gets rewarded by not having to watch a stupid movie. However, if you are a fan of this type of comedy and you really love Seth Rogen and James Franco, controversy aside, you might actually enjoy this. My grade for The Interview is a 5/10.