I do not know why North Korea was so upset upon the release of “The Interview.” If they had only bothered to watch it, they would have seen that this movie bombed. No need for nukes here.

“The Interview” was meant to be satirical of North Korea, the media and sexuality in America. Sure, I will admit that the movie got its points across, but the production was a childish attempt on a prime opportunity to pierce North Korea, as well as issues here in America.

Whereas “This Is The End” was enjoyable in its poking fun at the glamorous lives of celebrities, “The Interview” could have been more thoughtful in its joke selection, and its satire could have been more potent.

The film relied heavily on poop jokes and homosexual jokes. Using these jokes sparingly would have produced an equal amount of laughter, even more of which could have been garnered with more sophisticated jokes in place of recurring poop jokes.

Choosing to have multiple recurring or running jokes worked against the film, as the writing came off as amateurish. Limiting the poop and homosexual jokes, while keeping the running ‘honeypotting’ joke would have expressed a more serious craftsmanship than the actual script does.

Aside from the script, the movie was well made. The special effects were both useful and humorous, as evidenced by the slow motion explosion near the end of the film. The sets were well designed and appropriately used, especially that of the Chinese wilderness.

More importantly, the acting was professional and humorous.

Seth Rogen plays TV producer Aaron Rapoport and really the only character he ever does: his charming and awkward self. He does not necessarily need to expand his acting ability. People love his demeanor and his interesting laugh. He is successful how he is, whether it be in “Freaks and Geeks” or “The Interview.”

James Franco plays TV host Dave Skylark and reprises the naivety he used to play himself in “This Is The End.” While that character is nothing new, nor is it extraordinary acting, it is funny. It works for making fun of celebrities, and to some extent, the media. Though, I have to say, I want to see Franco get back to such intense roles as he played in “Milk” or even the original “Spiderman” trilogy.

Randall Park arrives in his first major film role as Kim Jong-Un. He does a good job of making the North Korean dictator a mortal person, taking his God-like stature and turning him into a sensitive American fanboy.

While the film was funny, I was expecting much more. I would have liked to see some of the silliness be satiric instead. I can only say that it was a decent film, nothing more.

2.5/5