It’s your patriotic duty to see ‘The Interview’

By Laura Carr

Editor-in-Chief

“She’s honey-potting you!” Those words, immortalized in film by Seth Rogen and James Franco’s latest film, characterize “The Interview.”

Let’s do a quick crash course about the controversy surrounding “The Interview.” Following an extremely damaging hack on Sony Pictures on Nov. 24, 2014, allegedly by the cyber terrorist group called ‘Guardians of Peace,’ the hacking group called for the movie’s cancellation.

North Korea became involved, although the small country rejected claims that they were behind the hack. Then, on Dec. 16, 2014, Guardians of Peace sent out a threatening email referencing the 9/11 attacks: “We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places ‘The Interview’ be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seeks fun in terror should be doomed to…The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001.”

These threats drove Sony Pictures to cancel the film’s Christmas release, causing a nationwide uproar over freedom of speech. Notable figures like President Barack Obama and George Clooney took part in the conversation, asserting that it was unacceptable that the U.S. would let North Korea control their content.

Sony received so much negative criticism that the company decided to release the movie on Christmas, but on different platforms than the traditional movie theater release. The movie was made available online for rental and purchase, followed by a limited release in theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada. But to be honest, an international scandal over a movie is the best worst thing that could happen in terms of publicity.

I myself watched the movie with my family on Christmas Day on XBox Live. I was filled with a sense of national pride while I watched the movie, although that sense of pride was underscored by a silent fear that the North Koreans and Guardians of Peace would pinpoint my house and blow it up. That didn’t happen.

If you haven’t gotten the chance to  die of laughter at Seth Rogen and James Franco’s crude farce, here’s an overview: ecstasy riddled producer (Rogen) and equally drugged up television journalist (Franco) score an in-person interview with Kim Jong-Un within North Korean borders. The CIA gets a whiff of their conquest and rope the two highly unprepared civilians into an assassination plot. What ensues is a forced comedic look at the life of Kim Jong-Un complete with naked women, several Lamborghinis, lots of Katy Perry songs and ever-flowing margaritas. Meanwhile, audiences candidly learn about the dictators daddy issues and eventually the plot unfolds to the scene of the actual interview. Lavatorial humor and disgustingly crude language seem to be the strongest thematic elements in the movie.

While it received mixed reviews (52 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), I spent the better part of two hours shaking with laughter, and occasionally snorting, at the movie’s crude humor. For a movie cloaked in so much controversy, it seemed ridiculous that anybody could possibly feel so threatened by it.

Flash forward to the present. The movie is now available for viewing on Netflix, as of Jan. 24, and Sony announced that it has made over $40 million from the box office, video on demand and streaming.

The movie’s unorthodox release may have started a trend in the way movies are released, although it is a little too early to be quite sure of that. And for anybody who hasn’t watched the movie yet, I highly recommend that you do.

It sends a clear message about global politics, despite some of the strange plotlines (Seth Rogen’s affair with a North Korean female soldier; James Franco’s character’s unlikely friendship with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un; fake North Korean grocery stores, to name a few), and it is also free to watch if you have a Netflix account. The movie is also set to release on DVD and BluRay on Feb. 17.

Let’s do a quick crash course about the controversy surrounding “The Interview.” Following an extremely damaging hack on Sony Pictures on Nov. 24, 2014, allegedly by the cyber terrorist group called ‘Guardians of Peace,’ the hacking group called for the movie’s cancellation.

North Korea became involved, although the small country rejected claims that they were behind the hack. Then, on Dec. 16, 2014, Guardians of Peace sent out a threatening email referencing the 9/11 attacks: “We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places ‘The Interview’ be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seeks fun in terror should be doomed to…The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001.”

These threats drove Sony Pictures to cancel the film’s Christmas release, causing a nationwide uproar over freedom of speech. Notable figures like President Barack Obama and George Clooney took part in the conversation, asserting that it was unacceptable that the U.S. would let North Korea control their content.

Sony received so much negative criticism that the company decided to release the movie on Christmas, but on different platforms than the traditional movie theater release. The movie was made available online for rental and purchase, followed by a limited release in theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada. But to be honest, an international scandal over a movie is the best worst thing that could happen in terms of publicity.

I myself watched the movie with my family on Christmas Day on XBox Live. I was filled with a sense of national pride while I watched the movie, although that sense of pride was underscored by a silent fear that the North Koreans and Guardians of Peace would pinpoint my house and blow it up. That didn’t happen.

If you haven’t gotten the chance to  die of laughter at Seth Rogen and James Franco’s crude farce, here’s an overview: ecstasy riddled producer (Rogen) and equally drugged up television journalist (Franco) score an in-person interview with Kim Jong-Un within North Korean borders. The CIA gets a whiff of their conquest and rope the two highly unprepared civilians into an assassination plot. What ensues is a forced comedic look at the life of Kim Jong-Un complete with naked women, several Lamborghinis, lots of Katy Perry songs and ever-flowing margaritas. Meanwhile, audiences candidly learn about the dictators daddy issues and eventually the plot unfolds to the scene of the actual interview. Lavatorial humor and disgustingly crude language seem to be the strongest thematic elements in the movie.

While it received mixed reviews (52 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), I spent the better part of two hours shaking with laughter, and occasionally snorting, at the movie’s crude humor. For a movie cloaked in so much controversy, it seemed ridiculous that anybody could possibly feel so threatened by it.

Flash forward to the present. The movie is now available for viewing on Netflix, as of Jan. 24, and Sony announced that it has made over $40 million from the box office, video on demand and streaming.

The movie’s unorthodox release may have started a trend in the way movies are released, although it is a little too early to be quite sure of that. And for anybody who hasn’t watched the movie yet, I highly recommend that you do.

It sends a clear message about global politics, despite some of the strange plotlines (Seth Rogen’s affair with a North Korean female soldier; James Franco’s character’s unlikely friendship with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un; fake North Korean grocery stores, to name a few), and it is also free to watch if you have a Netflix account. The movie is also set to release on DVD and BluRay on Feb. 17.

Photo courtesy  http://galleryhip.com/better-dead-than-red-poster.html