Filed under: Reviews | Tags: 2014, evan goldberg, seth rogen, the interview
Director(s): Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
The dust of the international incident caused by The Interview has settled, and now the excitement has been tempered by the realization that the latest comedy by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg is hardly up to their usual par. A handful of laughs are expected and they are offered, but just as many don’t land or lack quite the bite that such a confrontational premise would inspire hopes of. It’s most successful as a lampooning of the American media circus, echoing some of This is the End’s Hollywood insider comedy with a terrific opening sequence in which Eminem casually reveals in interview that he’s a homosexual. As a Ryan Seacrest-type character, James Franco has the necessary desperation to play the part of a plastic, over-eager manchild, but said desperation is rooted more in the fact that he’s simply uncomfortable playing such a manic part. It’s an awkward, sometimes embarrassing performance–his talents were much better suited by the sort of casual, oblivious deliveries that he brought to the aforementioned Hollywood-set apocalyptic comedy. Rogen, on the other hand, has firmly stood his ground as an affable comedic foil over the last several years. Although he’s as predictably comfortable in the part as Franco is lost in his, it’s a nice reminder of his generosity as a reactionary performer, elevating his co-stars’ performances with his reliably hilarious way of expressing bafflement.
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