Newsletter
  • Guides
  • Previews
    • Indie Games
    • PS4
    • PC
    • Xbox One
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo 3DS
    • PS Vita
    • PS3
    • Xbox 360
    • Wii U
  • Site Info
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Staff Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Privacy Policy
      • Cookies Policy
    • RSS Feeds
    • Social Media
      • Youtube
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Twitch
      • Instagram
      • Tumblr
      • Linkedin
      • Pinterest
      • Discord
  • Discord
  • Store
  • Logitech G
  • green man gaming
  • Affiliates
    • GAMIVO.com
    • Logitech
    • Astro Gaming
    • Nord VPN
    • Best Buy
    • Namecheap Hosting
    • Blue Mic
    • Ultimate Ears
    • Jaybird
Monday, January 30, 2023
BG
  • News
    • All
    • Esports
    • Interviews

    Amazon Luna Games Coming in February

    Wanted: Dead Finishers Explained Video

    Current CS:GO Team Rankings! What’s the Best Team at the Moment?

    Wanted: Dead Shows New Combat Gameplay For A Bloody Valentines Day

    Eminence in Shadow Mobile RPG Gets New Trailer, Available Now

    Crunchyroll Announces 8-Bit Adventure Gam Hime’s Quest

    Atelier Ryza

    UDON Entertainment Announces Atelier Ryza Official Visual Collections

    Animator Spotlight: Solal Girardin

    Bloodline: The Last Royal Vampire Mobile Game Announced With AOT Crossover

    Trending Tags

    • Top Stories
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
    • Nintendo
    • Retro Games
    • Mobile Games
    • Indie Games
    • Square Enix
    • Sony
    • Microsoft
    • PAX
    • EGX
    • Gamescom
    • Rockstar Games
    • Electronic Arts
    • Activision Blizzard
    • E3 Expo
  • Reviews
    • All
    • Flash Game Reviews
    • Google Stadia
    • Indie Game Reviews
    • Mobile Game Reviews
    • Nintendo 3DS Reviews
    • Nintendo Switch Reviews
    • PC Reviews
    • PS Vita Reviews
    • PS3 Reviews
    • PS4 Reviews
    • PS5 Reviews
    • Retro Game Reviews
    • Reviews RoundUP
    • Xbox 360 Reviews
    • Xbox One Reviews
    The Legend of Heroes Trails From Zero

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero PC Review

    Amnesia: Memories + Later x Crowd Review

    Dusk Diver 2 PS5 Review

    Yurukill: The Culmination Games

    Yurukill: The Calumniation Games Nintendo Switch Review

    Matchpoint Tennis Championships Live Review

    Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II Nintendo Switch Review

    Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Nintendo Switch Review

    Evil Dead: The Game

    Evil Dead: The Game Review

    Crystar Nintendo Switch Review

    Trending Tags

    • Resident Evil
    • Call of Duty
    • Final Fantasy
    • Destiny
    • Borderlands
    • Halo
    • The Elder Scrolls
    • Fortnite
    • PUBG
    • Bioshock
    • The Witcher
  • Opinion
    • All
    • Second Opinion
    megaways vs regular slot machines

    Are Megaways Better Than Regular Slots?

    Current CS:GO Team Rankings! What’s the Best Team at the Moment?

    game night with friends tips for success

    Top Tips for Games Night Success

    10 benefits of online gaming

    10 Benefits of Online Gaming

    The 5 Most Popular Video Games that Feature Casinos and Gambling to Play

    Is There a Casino in the Metaverse?

    Technologies That Changed the iGaming Industry

    Even Sims 3 players can play at a casino in game

    Top 6 Video Games with Casino Mini-Games

    Is Betting on E-games Possible?

    Trending Tags

    • Is It A Classic?
    • Remember When
    • Do We Even Care Anymore?
    • Humpday Haikus
    • Top Series
    • Thirsty Thursday
    • Aging Gamer
    • On The Way To E3
  • Podcasts
    • All
    • The BagoCast
    • TSR BagoCast

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Social Media & Esports

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Politics in Video Games Games

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist 2

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Titan Fall and Apex: Legends Hacked

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist

    BagoCast EP: 12 – Code Vein and the DLC

    Debate/Discussion: Bad Video Games That We Love

    Discussion/Debate: Is Bioware Gone?

    Trending Tags

    • Film Fallout
    • 8Bit Proof
    • Gaming Historia
    • Bago Anime Cast
    • Gamers In Beta
    • Gamers Unscripted
  • Videos

    So, You Wanna Play Junker Queen?

    Matchpoint Tennis Championships Live Review

    Void Slayer – Review

    The IDEAL Spider-Man VR Game

    Crunchyroll Panel Full Video @ Anime Frontier

    BPM: Bullets Per Minute – Shooting to The Beat (Review)

    She Will Punish Them – Warning: Mature Content (Early Access Review)

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Social Media & Esports

  • Geek Culture
    • All
    • Anime and Manga
    • Anime/Manga Review
    • Collectibles
    • Comic Books
    • Cosplay
    • Movies
    • Tech
    • TV Shows

    Eminence in Shadow Mobile RPG Gets New Trailer, Available Now

    Crunchyroll Announces Anime Frontier Panels and Premieres

    Crunchyroll Announces Hell’s Paradise, The Ancient Magus’ Bride S2, and More Upcoming Anime

    The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie Gets New Key Visual, Tickets Now on Sale

    Crunchyroll Rich Presence Now Available on Discord

    Udon Entertainment Announces Persona 4 Arena & Ultimax Manga Coming 2023

    Steve Aoki Releases All-New Remix for the “One Piece Film Red” Original Soundtrack

    Milan Records Releases CHAINSAW MAN Soundtrack Vol 1

    Quintessential Quintuplet

    Crunchyroll Releases New Trailer and Details For Quintessential Quintuplets Movie

    Trending Tags

    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie News
    • TV News
    • TV Episode Review
    • Episode Guide
    • Competitive Gaming
    • Tech News
    • Tech Review
    • Anime and Manga News
    • Anime and Manga Review
    • Comic Book News
    • Comic Book Review
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Esports
    • Interviews

    Amazon Luna Games Coming in February

    Wanted: Dead Finishers Explained Video

    Current CS:GO Team Rankings! What’s the Best Team at the Moment?

    Wanted: Dead Shows New Combat Gameplay For A Bloody Valentines Day

    Eminence in Shadow Mobile RPG Gets New Trailer, Available Now

    Crunchyroll Announces 8-Bit Adventure Gam Hime’s Quest

    Atelier Ryza

    UDON Entertainment Announces Atelier Ryza Official Visual Collections

    Animator Spotlight: Solal Girardin

    Bloodline: The Last Royal Vampire Mobile Game Announced With AOT Crossover

    Trending Tags

    • Top Stories
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
    • Nintendo
    • Retro Games
    • Mobile Games
    • Indie Games
    • Square Enix
    • Sony
    • Microsoft
    • PAX
    • EGX
    • Gamescom
    • Rockstar Games
    • Electronic Arts
    • Activision Blizzard
    • E3 Expo
  • Reviews
    • All
    • Flash Game Reviews
    • Google Stadia
    • Indie Game Reviews
    • Mobile Game Reviews
    • Nintendo 3DS Reviews
    • Nintendo Switch Reviews
    • PC Reviews
    • PS Vita Reviews
    • PS3 Reviews
    • PS4 Reviews
    • PS5 Reviews
    • Retro Game Reviews
    • Reviews RoundUP
    • Xbox 360 Reviews
    • Xbox One Reviews
    The Legend of Heroes Trails From Zero

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero PC Review

    Amnesia: Memories + Later x Crowd Review

    Dusk Diver 2 PS5 Review

    Yurukill: The Culmination Games

    Yurukill: The Calumniation Games Nintendo Switch Review

    Matchpoint Tennis Championships Live Review

    Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II Nintendo Switch Review

    Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Nintendo Switch Review

    Evil Dead: The Game

    Evil Dead: The Game Review

    Crystar Nintendo Switch Review

    Trending Tags

    • Resident Evil
    • Call of Duty
    • Final Fantasy
    • Destiny
    • Borderlands
    • Halo
    • The Elder Scrolls
    • Fortnite
    • PUBG
    • Bioshock
    • The Witcher
  • Opinion
    • All
    • Second Opinion
    megaways vs regular slot machines

    Are Megaways Better Than Regular Slots?

    Current CS:GO Team Rankings! What’s the Best Team at the Moment?

    game night with friends tips for success

    Top Tips for Games Night Success

    10 benefits of online gaming

    10 Benefits of Online Gaming

    The 5 Most Popular Video Games that Feature Casinos and Gambling to Play

    Is There a Casino in the Metaverse?

    Technologies That Changed the iGaming Industry

    Even Sims 3 players can play at a casino in game

    Top 6 Video Games with Casino Mini-Games

    Is Betting on E-games Possible?

    Trending Tags

    • Is It A Classic?
    • Remember When
    • Do We Even Care Anymore?
    • Humpday Haikus
    • Top Series
    • Thirsty Thursday
    • Aging Gamer
    • On The Way To E3
  • Podcasts
    • All
    • The BagoCast
    • TSR BagoCast

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Social Media & Esports

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Politics in Video Games Games

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist 2

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Titan Fall and Apex: Legends Hacked

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist

    BagoCast EP: 12 – Code Vein and the DLC

    Debate/Discussion: Bad Video Games That We Love

    Discussion/Debate: Is Bioware Gone?

    Trending Tags

    • Film Fallout
    • 8Bit Proof
    • Gaming Historia
    • Bago Anime Cast
    • Gamers In Beta
    • Gamers Unscripted
  • Videos

    So, You Wanna Play Junker Queen?

    Matchpoint Tennis Championships Live Review

    Void Slayer – Review

    The IDEAL Spider-Man VR Game

    Crunchyroll Panel Full Video @ Anime Frontier

    BPM: Bullets Per Minute – Shooting to The Beat (Review)

    She Will Punish Them – Warning: Mature Content (Early Access Review)

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Social Media & Esports

  • Geek Culture
    • All
    • Anime and Manga
    • Anime/Manga Review
    • Collectibles
    • Comic Books
    • Cosplay
    • Movies
    • Tech
    • TV Shows

    Eminence in Shadow Mobile RPG Gets New Trailer, Available Now

    Crunchyroll Announces Anime Frontier Panels and Premieres

    Crunchyroll Announces Hell’s Paradise, The Ancient Magus’ Bride S2, and More Upcoming Anime

    The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie Gets New Key Visual, Tickets Now on Sale

    Crunchyroll Rich Presence Now Available on Discord

    Udon Entertainment Announces Persona 4 Arena & Ultimax Manga Coming 2023

    Steve Aoki Releases All-New Remix for the “One Piece Film Red” Original Soundtrack

    Milan Records Releases CHAINSAW MAN Soundtrack Vol 1

    Quintessential Quintuplet

    Crunchyroll Releases New Trailer and Details For Quintessential Quintuplets Movie

    Trending Tags

    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie News
    • TV News
    • TV Episode Review
    • Episode Guide
    • Competitive Gaming
    • Tech News
    • Tech Review
    • Anime and Manga News
    • Anime and Manga Review
    • Comic Book News
    • Comic Book Review
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
BagoGames
No Result
View All Result

BagoGames > Articles > Geek Culture > Movies > Please, Make It Stop | The Interview Review

Please, Make It Stop | The Interview Review

Tim Gruver by Tim Gruver
8 years ago
in Geek Culture, Movies
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It was a holiday ago that The Interview was released by a shamed Sony Pictures across digital streaming formats (i.e. YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video, among others) as well as theaters. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, so this is the little movie that caused the big fuss.

And little it is, a dopey bro-com that piddles along delivering mild laughs until it turns overly and unfunnily bloody by its climax. The daring of its makers — co-writer/co-director/star Seth Rogen, co-writer/co-director Evan Goldberg, co-writer Dan Sterling, star James Franco — extends only as far as using a living, breathing, and infamous head of state as the target of all its lambasting. After all, we’ve seen this rigamarole on the nightly news broadcasts the film features at its start. It would be nice to report that The Interview was a great movie, but I think some of us knew what to expect. Disappointment could only go as far to say that the film had set a bar at all for itself – which is to say it’s an unsurprising mess.

The Interview Watches BagoGames
James Franco’s Dave Skylark and Seth Rogen’s Aaron Rappaport

It’s genial enough for most of its running, and Franco gets to spoof his own lightweight image as Dave Skylark, the dimwitted star of a TV entertainment news show, “Skylark Tonight.” Rogen plays Aaron Rappaport, Dave’s comparatively level-headed friend and producer, bent on finding the next celebrity scandal to light up the show’s Twitter feed and raise ratings. Embarrassed by a snide rival at “60 Minutes,” Aaron vows to put Dave on a hard news story, and when he reads that Kim Jong-un of North Korea is a fan of the show, arrangements are made for an interview with the reclusive dictator. “This will be as big as Frosty Nixon!” crows Dave. Yes, they say just that.

RelatedStories

Eminence in Shadow Mobile RPG Gets New Trailer, Available Now

2 months ago

Crunchyroll Announces Anime Frontier Panels and Premieres

2 months ago

Enter the CIA in the persons of Agents Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) and Botwin (Reese Alexander), who enlist our frat-row Abbott and Costello in an assassination plot involving poisonous handshakes and covert code names (Dave’s is “Dung Beetle.”) Charlie Chaplin may have mocked Hitler (a.k.a. Adenoid Hynkel) in 1940’s The Great Dictator with equal fervor, but The Interview takes the idea to violent extremes while cackling complacently at its own nerve. It all curiously to the same Hollywood shock culture that Skylark himself embodies – grasping at any straw, no matter how thin, for a cheap gag.

The Interview Kim Entourage BagoGames
Randall Park as Kim Jong-un with his military entourage.

The general political stance of The Interview could be summed up by the fiercely patriotic tagline from 2004’s Team America: World Police — one I need not quote here. Once in North Korea, Aaron falls for a sexy Army officer (Diane Bang) while Dave bobbles the poison and ends up bonding with Kim himself, played by Randall Park with less baby fat and more charisma than the real article. Granted, The Interview may never have claimed to make anything in the way of a statement, yet the inherently political premise hardly allows for anything else. It should’ve been enough that the film supply its fill of harmless yucks from the trials of culture shock – but the yucks are few and far between.

The movie’s funniest scenes posit Kim Jong-un as a spoiled, yet sensitive man-child, under-appreciated by his late father, prone to weeping over Katy Perry lyrics, and eager to show off his toys to his new friend. Standing in front of a WWII-era tank, he brags that “this was a gift to my grandfather from Stalin.” “In America,” Dave responds, “we pronounce it ‘Stallone’.” Even these can’t help but feel short-lived in spite of Park’s genuine attempts at crafting a lovably despicable Kim, who may or may not have a mortal’s butt-hole in the eyes of the fawning North Korean populace. And how Bang finds Rogen so alluring is beyond me, given her supposed priority in toppling a dictator.

The Interview seems to think that a dumb joke isn’t any good unless it’s repeated ten times. Its assorted phallic imagery and juvenile innuendo is done to the point of nausea and the grossly excessive time spent on a missile capsule Aaron has to insert up his unmentionable only exemplifies the film’s obsession with overkill. The filmmakers believe they’re calling tyranny into account, but the more The Interview protests, the more naive it seems. Everyone here is in way over his or her head, but no one seems to know to what end. Franco and Rogen are clearly the buffoons here, but their childish hijinks are at odds with the heavy-handed subject material (i.e. starving children and death camps).

The Interview Skylark & Kim BagoGames
Skylark and Kim

We’re told they’re white knights in shining armor here to save the Korean peninsula, despite the frequent warning that revolution could also bring catastrophic results. “How many times must the U.S. make the same mistakes?” Bang asks. “As many times as it takes!” Franco replies in all the dimwitted smugness the film encompasses at every turn. In these instances, it’s difficult to judge whether the film’s, in fact, smart enough to be counted as satire. Instead, it seems smugly content with asking the loaded questions it’s never interested in sorting out the answer to.

Racist notions of “the white man’s burden” might not be an overreaction, but it should count for something that the film insists that Rogen melt the heart of Bang’s initially-icy Park despite playing the film’s arguable straight man. While it may be difficult to surmise who, in fact, are the objects of the film’s scorn at any given time, it’s blood-soaked finale reiterates its über-patriotic sentiment to a frankly belligerent degree.

The Interview Trio BagoGames
Diana Bang’s Sook Yung Park views Kim Jong-un’s demise alongside Rappaport and Skylark.

Eventually, even Dave’s eyes are opened to the cruelty of Kim’s reign, and the climactic televised interview turns into an on-camera scolding and a control room fistfight, complete with fingers being bitten off in gory detail and a fiery demise for Kim, all for the sake of fulfilling Skylark’s Lord of the Rings references and an ironic usage of Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Ultimately, The Interview serves nothing more as scathing propaganda that climaxes with a dictator’s violent death, so much as to say it leaves the viewer wanting, or in Rappaport’s more specific terms, “honey-potted” by the mere intent of its narrative.

I suppose Rogen and Franco are content with their film having been seen at the least and Sony will have made its stand via its series of ridiculous PR stunts and chastisement by a president of the United States.  The biggest losers are the hackers that exposed Sony’s inner workings and threatened U.S. moviegoers, as well as whatever interests were presumably behind them, and for good reason. The Interview itself is about as patriotic as an all-American cheeseburger – it’s tempting enough the first bite, but the rest of it can’t help but go down with some old-fashioned indigestion and overwhelming regret.

The Interview

The Interview
2

Score

2.0/10

Pros

  • A Smattering Of Jokes Work. Sort Of.
  • Bang and Park Give It Their All

Cons

  • A Very Muddled Political Message
  • Directionless Gags Get Tired. Fast.
  • Bizarre Violence Feels Vastly Inappropriate
Tags: James FrancoMovie ReviewsNetflixSeth RogenSonyVOD
ShareTweetShare


Previous Post

Sony Online Entertainment is Sold and Going Multi-platform

Next Post

London Will Host MineCon 2015 In July

Subscribe
Connect with
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
guest
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us to keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser cookies for the next time I comment.

I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
guest
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us to keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser cookies for the next time I comment.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

BAGOGAMES WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Get this week's top news, reviews, guides, videos and opinion for your favorite games, movies, TV and tech in your email every Friday.

Don't worry, we don't spam.

NEW ON BAGOGAMES

Game News

Amazon Luna Games Coming in February

by Michael Mosley
4 days ago
Game News

Wanted: Dead Finishers Explained Video

by Michael Mosley
1 week ago
megaways vs regular slot machines
Opinion

Are Megaways Better Than Regular Slots?

by Trevor Kincaid
2 weeks ago

LATEST PODCASTS & VIDEOS

Currently Playing

Void Slayer – Review

Void Slayer – Review

Game Reviews

The IDEAL Spider-Man VR Game

Opinion

BPM: Bullets Per Minute – Shooting to The Beat (Review)

Game Reviews

She Will Punish Them – Warning: Mature Content (Early Access Review)

Game Reviews

Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

Opinion

FOLLOW US

  • 5.3k Followers
  • 679 Followers
BagoGames

BagoGames.com © 2020 BagoGames LLC. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Directory
  • Join Our Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • RSS Feeds
  • Discord Server
  • BG Store
  • OpenCritic
  • green man gaming
  • Logitech G
  • GAMIVO.com
  • ASTRO Gaming
  • Logitech
  • Namecheap Hosting
  • Nord VPN
  • Best Buy
  • Blue Mic
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Guides

Follow Us

  • Login
  • Sign Up
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Geek Culture
  • Previews
  • Guides
  • Short Videos
  • Forum
  • Site Info
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Join Our Team
    • Staff Directory
    • Privacy Policy
    • Newsletter
    • RSS Feeds

BagoGames.com © 2020 BagoGames LLC. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
wpDiscuz