Take Me Out [Review: The Interview]

I had fairly negative expectations of The Interview having read some not-so-great reviews. It also appears Kim Jong-Un himself isn't a fan, so maybe we aren't so different after all. I haven't spoken to him recently but I would guess that he took issue with the contrived plot most of all. Celebrity interviewer Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapaport (Seth Rogen) discover Jong-Un is a fan of their show, so use this as leverage to arrange a once-in-a-lifetime interview, then the CIA crashes their party and asks them to kill him.

I can't deny this film is contrived, or that it relies heavily on lowbrow laughs, or for that matter that in a few places it could be seen as racist and misogynistic, although I've seen far more offensive comedies. It's also utterly without  redeeming social importance, lacking the self-critical irony of the far superior Team America: World Police. However I also can't deny that it's extremely funny, and in some places surprisingly clever. Which, along with the two main characters who are weirdly likeable even when they're being absolute cads, and the supporting character Sook-Young Park (Diana Bang) who's personal story arc takes her from innocent propagandist to bad-ass freedom fighter via some hilarious scenes, means it's more enjoyable than I expected, even if I was occasionally left feeling awkward for doing so.