Cast: It's the Seth Rogen and James Franco show. Rogen is (and I say this with love) exactly as you'd expect him to be in this. Franco is only ever this loose when he's with Rogen and I wonder why that is. Lizzy Caplan has the playfulness of someone who is doing this because she's friends with the people making it. I've only seen Randall Park in Veep before this, but he plays a great Kim Jong-Un, as a character. I dare not estimate the accuracy, but I assume it's low. Diana Bang is almost a complete newcomer but I hope to see her in many comedies in the future.
Plot: Dave Skylark (Franco) is a popular entertainment personality who's producer, Aaron Rapoport (Rogen), wants to move into more substantial work. This leads to landing an interview with Kim Jong-Un. Naturally, the CIA convinces them to covertly assassinate Un. They go to North Korea and hilarity ensues. My biggest concern going in was that the joke would be pitch (Talk show host kills Kim Jong Un) and not the execution, but that wasn't the case. This is loaded with jokes, which I should've expected, given who made it*. By the end, this reaches a near live action cartoon level that something like Pineapple Express also had.
*Sidenote: If This is the End was their dick humor movie, this is their butt humor one.
Elephant in the Room: North Korea. Where to begin? The Interview has secured its place in movie lore. In a decade, I wouldn't be surprised if this is still the most talked about movie from 2014. That's kind of impressive for a little stoner comedy. North Korea has every right to be offended by this movie. It's basically Inglourious Basterds if it were made in 1940. The thing is, it's not like Un is seen as a misunderstood guy. I'm pretty sure that North Korea is the only country on the "Kim Jong-Un is a good leader" bandwagon. It might be crass to make light of everything going on in that country, but I'm in the camp of "whatever it takes to open up a dialogue". Now, if this really does start World War III, then it's not worth it. Let's see how things play out.
To Sum Things Up:
I am the biggest and blindest Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg fanboy I know. I just want to make that clear, because if this is a stinker, then I won't know it. I loved this movie and I'm having a hard time keeping it out of my top ten for the year. Controversy aside, it is a flat out funny movie. Now it has a weird cultural significance too. The only disappointment about the movie is that the conversation is about the controversy, not the comedy.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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