Here’s guessing Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Franco never thought their North Korea assassination comedy would come to this.

James Franco, Lizzy Caplan, and Seth Rogen in The Interview.

Ed Araquel/CTMG

The Interview is actually pretty funny, for a movie that's generated promises of 9/11-style retaliation.

It's worth noting as the fallout from the film, which includes the cyber attack on Sony Pictures, multiple massive leaks of studio data, threats against employees, and a vow from the "Guardians of Peace" that "the world will be full of fear," surges past the actual 112-minute feature whose theatrical release was just canceled. Star Seth Rogen, who also co-wrote and -directed the film, and his fellow lead James Franco canceled their press appearances and a planned premiere in New York, while theater chain after theater chain announced they weren't going to show it until Sony scrapped the opening date altogether. Though the decision was esentially reversed a week later, in the process, The Interview has become the most dangerous dumb comedy in the world.

And it is dumb, sometimes intentionally (so many butthole gags) and other times in a way that just feels baggily imprecise, like its creators aren't entirely sure who their jokes are on. In their last movie, This Is the End, filmmakers Rogen and Evan Goldberg dovetailed their skewering of Hollywood with a surprisingly heartfelt depiction of a fading friendship as the world came to an end. The Interview covers some of the same territory, and the celeb satire and the bromance are still its best and more comfortable parts. It gets shakier when it ventures into the realm of international politics, where the stakes are a lot higher — higher in ways that Goldberg and Rogen (and Sony Pictures) only now seem to be realizing.

Columbia Pictures

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