When the news of Sony Pictures’ hacking by the North Korean government came out, people were angry. And when Sony Pictures announced they were halting release on The Interview, the satirical film about assassinating Kim Jong-un, the film which the North Korean hackers tried to stop – people were irate. And for good reason. Across the country, many spoke out condemning Sony’s actions, including President Barack Obama. While he and others were correct that Sony and The Interview were just in their creation as the satirical film was merely an extension of American freedom of speech, after seeing the film it’s almost shocking that North Korea went to such extreme lengths to stop its release. Even though The Interview quite blatantly exposes the evils of Kim Jong-un, the film is too utterly ridiculous and stupid to evoke any sort of political reform.
The Interview stars Seth Rogen and James Franco in their first film together since Pineapple Express (2008). Aaron Rappaport (Rogen) is the producer of a sleazy, entertainment talk show called “Skylark Tonight” starring his best friend, Dave Skylark (James Franco). The premise of their talk show is seen early on as being purely for entertainment – Skylark works to evoke the scandals of their celebrity guests for example, Eminem, who in trying to defend his lyrics and prove he doesn’t “hate old people,” admits to being gay, which excites the production staff who didn’t expect to receive such juicy gossip.
The movie finds many of its problems in the development of Rogen and Franco’s characters. Rogen, while likable, assumes a role we have seen before. As producer of “Skylark Tonight,” he is Franco’s sidekick and the all-around voice of reason. Franco, on the other hand, is a loud-mouthed, obnoxious, gossip loving celebrity who only looks out for himself. His crude comments, while sometimes funny, are usually lines that evoke groans from the audience.
Later that night, Aaron bumps into a former friend (Anders Holm). The friend, who is now a senior producer for 60 Minutes, belittles Aaron’s job as something comical, while he conducts real interviews and pressing problems on television. His comments insult Aaron who tells Dave that he wants to make meaningful television – conducting interviews with politicians and activists – to achieve true greatness. The skeevy Skylark reluctantly agrees, but after he reads an article that reveals that Kim Jong-un, ‘the supreme leader’ of North Korea is a fan of Skylark Tonight, he wants to interview the dictator.
After getting through to the North Korean Olympic Committee, an international episode of Skylark Tonight is set with an interview between Dave and Kim Jong-un, under the condition that the North Korean government write the questions for the meeting. The task seems simple enough, until the CIA shows up. CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) is impressed that Skylark received a welcoming from North Korea, but she additionally asks Skylark and Rappaport to assassinate Kim Jong-Un, a task that can be done in a handshake, by sticking a poisonous paper tab on the dictator’s hand. After pondering overnight, the two agree to the assassination.
When the men arrive in Pyongyang, North Korea, much of the ridiculous and inappropriate humor begins. Between tiger attacks, accidental murders, and singing Katy Perry songs with Kim Jong-un, the movie finds some of its most bizarre scenes. And as Kim Jong-un is such a huge “fan” of Skylark Tonight, he separates the duo, spending all his time with Dave, becoming best friends with him to prove that his country is not starving nor is he evil, both of which are false. The stereotypical central conflict between the two friends is found here: Aaron must convince Dave that he is being “honeypotted” and lied to by Kim Jong-Un and that they must go through with the assassination post-interview.
This film is by no means awful. The Interview was halted by controversy that called for international speculation, and when Hollywood actors and the President of the United States have to speak out to condemn the actions of Sony Pictures, the stakes are raised. People across the country and world expected something that could rationalize the actions of the North Korean hackers. But what I’ve found is a movie made too goofy, ridiculous, and crass to be taken seriously. Although many assume the people of North Korea to be brainwashed and irrational already, it is still surprising that the movie did not take more legitimate stabs at its dictatorial regime.
However, when The Interview did attempt to embarrass Kim Jong-un and the nation of North Korea, they did it quite well. When not trying to lessen Jong-un’s masculinity by outing him as a Katy Perry fan, several scenes achieved their satirical goal and exposed much of what Americans knew about North Korea and its oppressed people. The best scene in the movie, appropriately, is the interview itself. In it, Skylark initially lobs softball questions to Jong-un angering Rappaport who wants to conduct a meaningful interview by exposing the truth about Kim Jong-un to its people. Eventually, however, Skylark eventually begins to grill the dictator trapping him with questions about the starvation, poverty and lies in North Korea. Here is one of the few moments where the film achieves its goal of shaming North Korea and its beloved supreme leader. In flustering Kim Jong-un and softly singing the dictator’s favorite song, Dave Skylark makes Jong-un blubber like a baby on international television.
The scene shows the growth of Dave Skylark in realizing Aaron was right, and that he must expose Kim Jong-un. Additionally, Aaron is pleased because he finally achieves credibility for his work as a television producer with this bombshell interview. However, the question still looms: was the shame caused in one scene enough reason to incite fury by the North Koreans?
In my opinion, no. Not only is satire and the freedom of speech a right of every just nation and government, this film is silly, it’s more entertaining than it is effective satire. And if its goal was to be an effective satire, it does not succeed. In the future, those looking to do movies like this right should take notes from that of successful satires like Tropic Thunder (2007) and Team America: World Police (2004) for a refreshing take on embarrassing and shaming the political motives detested by our country. The Interview will forever be remembered and overshadowed by the scandals which loomed over it – the hacking of Sony Pictures and the threats to movie theaters across the country – rather than the movie itself.
