I picked this film as end-of-the-year entertainment because I was curious about the light comedy that created a lot of noise around it by the time it was released. The stories around the making, the delayed launching, and the disputes after ‘The Interview‘ was premiered in 2014 end by being more interesting than the film itself.
Seeing this film four years after its release and remembering the whole scandal at international scale that was caused by it makes one reflect about the changes in both politics and film-making that took place in this rather short interval. Some of the political developments in the relations between North Korea and the United States in these years could not have been imagined even by the creative script writers at Hollywood, and as a result some of the themes of the film are overcome by events. On the other hand the moralistic trends at Hollywood are stronger today than four years ago, and I doubt that some of the jokes in the film would have made it in the more politically correct film industry of 2018.
The premises of ‘The Interview‘ have some potential, with the trash TV shows anchor (James Franco) and his producer (Seth Rogen) being recruited by the CIA in order to penetrate the hermetic country and try to assassinate its leader. There is a lot of comic potential in the contrast between the two Americans living a very ‘decadent’ style of life and their encounter with the realities (fake or true) of the Communist country, in the clash of cultures, and in the errors of translation between languages and perceptions. It’s the territory where Sacha Baron Cohen has made some real marvels, but directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen seem to never have intended to go beyond vulgar comedy, with very few (mostly verbal) sparks.
The result is a parody that succeeds to extract some laughs but cannot keep the comical pace for the whole duration of the film, becoming almost ridiculous by the end. The satirical approach works better when dealing with the American TV industry, it is clear actually that they know the material much better than the Korean realities and characters which are described using superficial stereotypes. Actors James Franco and Seth Rogen are reasonably funny. ‘The Interview‘ could have been a much better film, but the producers and their team aimed too low in several ways. A few years after its making the film looks already old for many reasons.