The Interview

A frustrated producer of a disdained, rough-hewn talk show (Seth Rogen) and his uncouth best friend/host (James Franco) find a chance for validation when it becomes clear that Kim Jong-un is a fan and wants to give an interview at his palace at Pyongyang. However, the CIA has different ideas and taps the boys into an assassination plot as no American has ever been able to get this close to the dictator before. The Interview runs way too long, goes for the kind of easy, stupid, and tiresome laughs that audiences have come to expect (and sadly embrace, in many cases) from this crew. Further, the movie isn't really worth all of the now forgotten hype and is pretty pathetic, even for a time waster. Franco is a particular dud, playing for laughs to poor results. * 1/2 out of ****