The Interview [A Fat Jesus Film Review]

Boy, this film has sure sent everyone into a tizzy. The latest Seth Rogen and James Franco team-up has been one of the most publicized film releases in recent memory. Sony Pictures have been pretty heavily hacked the past couple of months. With films being leaked onto the internet and personal emails being disclosed. About a week ago, December 16th, hackers (now presumed to be from North Korea) sent Sony a threatening message to not show 'The Interview.' A day later, Sony cancelled the NYC Premiere and major theater chains (like AMC) across the US pulled the film from their Christmas Day release. This effectively killed any hope of the film releasing. This caused a backlash from media, theater owners and even The White House. In the days following all this hubbub, it was reported that Sony was looking for other ways to release 'The Interview.' These (presumed sites) included online streaming services like Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube. A few days ago, on December 23rd, Sony announced that 'The Interview' would have a limited theater release on Christmas Day. Then yesterday morning, it broke that Sony would also be releasing 'The Interview' online, for everyone, via Google Play, X-Box Video and YouTube. The film went live at 1PM (Eastern Standard Time) yesterday and 'The Interview' is now available for the masses.

'The Interview' follows the story of Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapoport (James Franco and Seth Rogen). Dave Skylark hosts a late night talk show in which he interviews celebrities about controversial topics. Aaron Rapoport is the producer for the show. Shortly after their 1,000th episode, Dave finds out that North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), is a big fan of the show. Aaron travels to China to arrange an interview with Jong-un's people. The interview is confirmed by Sook (Diana Bang) one of Un's right hand women. After Dave finds out he will be interviewing Kim, they have a giant party at his house. Upon waking up the next day, Dave and Aaron are approached by CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan). She informs them that the US wants them to assassinate Kim Jong-un, so that change may finally start to come about in North Korea. Dave and Aaron reluctantly agree and begin to prepare for their trip to North Korea, where Dave and Aaron will attempt to assassinate one of the most dangerous men in the world.

This films hype reached critical mass in recent weeks with all of the news surrounding it coming out day after day. Some will argue that this is an important moment in the history of film. Where free speech prevailed. Some will likely say that "North Korea was right, maybe we should have just left it on the shelf." It wasn't the best team up between Rogen, Franco and (writer) Evan Goldberg. I think it was bigger for one reason, the (nearly) simultaneous release of a major film on video on demand and in theaters. I get that films that get a video on demand release, simply don't make the money that ones that are released to theaters make. But, it makes sense, for studios to at least consider the possibility of going forward with an idea like this. Major studio films are going to be seen in theaters, there's no stopping that. People still want to experience films on the big screen. If you also add a VoD release along side of a nation-wide schedule, you not only reach more people, but you get even more exposure for your product. I'll be honest here, if you're not a fan of the Seth Rogen and James Franco's brand of comedy, you're gonna have a hard time liking this film. This is the type of comedy that relies heavily on Rogen and Franco playing off of each other. One liners all over the place, raunchy and sexual jokes and over the top nonsense throughout. I loved every minute of it too. I get that the story is iffy at best, and probably out of taste in more than a few places. I get that the violence, especially towards the end of the film, is kind of unnecessary. I also get that this may be the film that starts World War III. But watching this with a group of friends and just laughing, made watching this on Christmas Eve all the more worth it. People get caught up on whether a film's good or bad too easily, including myself. With 'The Interview' you need to go in, turn your brain off and enjoy it. The laughs are plentiful and the running jokes they do throughout hit well. The acting is pretty okay. Seth Rogen and James Franco are who you expect them to be. The performances by Randall Park and Diana Bang were also pretty good. Randall Park shines as Kim Jong-un. The CGI and action are done well too, albeit way over the top. The film is about two hours, but if you're into it, you're not counting the minutes until it's over. The music is okay and probably has the best use of Katy Perry's "Firework" you're ever gonna hear.

'The Interview' is far from a perfect film, despite the rating you may see on iMDB. The story is iffy and borderline out of taste, the gratuitous violence near the end is also a bit out of place and it's not the best Rogen and Franco team-up. Nevertheless, this film is one that I quite enjoyed. There's plenty of laughs to be had throughout and that's what you should be watching a comedy film for in the end. Rogen and Franco's chemistry is amazing, and the amount of stupidly hilarious things they come up with, that I'll laugh at, is awesome. 'The Interview' isn't the best comedy of the year, but as it turns out, may be one of the most important films to be released this year.

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Neighbors [A Fat Jesus Quick Hit]

Let's be honest here, Zac Efron gets a lot of heat (here's a wrestling term 11 words in) for his roles in films over the years. But he's honestly not that terrible of an actor and has really grown out of his Disney star phase. When you can pair him with the people he was with in 'Neighbors' you get quite a pleasant performance out of him. All in a movie where you expect people like Seth Rogen, Dave Franco or Rose Byrne to outshine him. Why am I focusing on Zac Efron here? What I wanted to get across is, that even though he is a lead in this film, it shouldn't discourage you from giving this a watch. 'Neighbors' is actually a very fun movie.

'Neighbors' follows the story of Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) who have a newborn daughter, Stella. They are feeling alienated from their old lifestyle and being able to go out with their friends Jimmy and Paula (Ike Barinholtz and Carla Gallo). One day they notice they have new neighbors moving in, it's a fraternity called Delta Psi Beta. Led by Teddy Sanders and Peter Regazolli (Zac Efron and Dave Franco), the frat aspires to make its mark on Dela Psi Beta's history when they throw their end of the year party. One night, Mac and Kelly ask Teddy if the frat can keep it down. He agrees on the condition, they they never call the cops, but go straight to him. The next night, Mac is unable to get a hold of Teddy to turn the music down and Kelly convinces him to call the police. They try to send an anonymous tip, but the police officer identifies them to Teddy as the people who called it in. This marks the beginning of the ever escalating battle between Delta Psi Beta and The Radner's. 

I wasn't expecting much going into this, mostly because the trailer made this look like a very lackluster comedy. I love Seth Rogen and Dave Franco as well. But Rose Byrne isn't too big of a comedic powerhouse and Zac Efron isn't exactly filling the seats for comedy films either. Everyone surprised me though, as the main four have a fantastic chemistry and the interactions between Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jerrod Carmichael were side spilling at times. Don't get me wrong, Seth Rogen is great and Rose Byrne did a good job, but the biggest laughs this movie got out of me was from that foursome. The acting is fine in 'Neighbors,' for what this movie is, but the comedy is even better and that is what keeps this from being below average or mediocre. The story is quite alright too, it's coherent enough and has a lot more character development than I thought this type of movie would have. The supporting cast is pretty good throughout too as Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Hannibal Buress all play good roles and get time to let their comedic timing shine. The comedy isn't lacking either. It's produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, so it's filled to the brim it recurring gags, great one liners and awesome back-and-forths between almost every main character. There is some draggy parts, some scenes that didn't need to be in there and it might be a tad too long. None of this ruins the overall fun factor of this film, as you'll be hit with some good laughs all throughout this film. 

I really liked 'Neighbors.' It's not the best comedy of the year, but it's one that gets the job done. The story won't win any awards, the acting won't be the best you'll ever see in a comedy, but this is movie you won't feel bad for watching. Seth Rogen is endearing, Zac Efron delivers another solid performance, Dave Franco is getting better and better with each film and it's always nice to have Rose Byrne in a supporting comedic role. 'Neighbors' is just plain fun.

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22 Jump Street [A Fat Jesus Quick Hit]

'21 Jump Street' is a movie that I highly enjoyed. I went into thinking that it was gonna be a lackluster comedy, and came out of it praising it as the best comedy of 2012. Two years later they boys are back and bigger than ever. With the same writers, directors and core actors at their disposal, '22 Jump Street' is a rare sequel that is just as good, and at points, even better, than it's predecessor. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are a wonder to behold in these two films. 

"Oh, hey, look, there's Korean Jesus."
"It's Vietnamese Jesus now, you racist motherf***er."

'22 Jump Street' is set two years after the events of the first film and follows undercover police officers Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum). They thought they were going to a real college to tail drug deals, but instead are saddled with online courses. They eventually stumble across evidence that leads them to a drug deal going down at the docks. After a failed attempt at arresting the dealers, lead by a man known as Ghost (Peter Stormare), Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) reunites the duo with Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) at what is now, 22 Jump Street. The team is now assigned to go undercover at a college and find the supplier of a drug called "WHYPHY" that killed a student photographed buying it. Seemingly exactly like their first big case, Schmidt and Jenko head off to college to infiltrate the dealers and find the suppliers, before WHYPHY spreads.

"Someone get the man some water! He's black, he's Been through a lot!"

This is a movie that I wasn't sure about from the trailers. I think I'm like that with a lot of comedies these days though. It looked like it was going to be different film. It looked like it was going to be far too over the top, when it didn't need to be all that different from the first. Luckily for me, it wasn't over the top at all. Most of the time it was almost exactly the same. The actors knew it, the writers knew it, the directors knew it and they let YOU know it in the film. And you know what? It totally hooked me in. The charisma between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum is immense. Scenes involving Ice Cube are splendidly done. While the supporting cast, especially Jillian Bell, meshed with the main cast so well. The writing wasn't too lacking either. There were some jokes and gags that failed, but those are few and far between, as there's so much more that worked in this film. The recurring twins gag, the campus chase scene, the parents day, anything happening at the 22 Jump Street facility, Vietnamese Jesus, the closing credits, etc. There's so much to sink your teeth into even without mentioning the fantastic one-liners and dialogue. The comedy was great and the story, which is mostly the same is good as well. There's more development in new characters, while there's a few good scenes where they really got to let emotion shine through. It wasn't just all comedy, this movie had a ton of heart. The action wasn't lacking either as I highly enjoyed the chase scenes, explosions and combat throughout the film. It was never too serious and always done in a lighthearted way. I love that about this film. The fact it was just fun, funny and easy to watch the whole way through.

"He has one class in Human Sexuality, and now he's Harvey Milk."

If this was how all comedic sequels were done, there would be a lot less flops in the comedy side of cinema. This film and the upcoming 'Horrible Bosses 2' are movies I've been highly looking forward to. One film I already love, this one, and I'm hoping they can do another good follow-up with 'Horrible Bosses 2.' Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are having a helluva year between '22 Jump Street' and 'The LEGO Movie.' While I liked the latter more, '22 Jump Street' is still one of the best comedies this year. The comedy, action, acting and writing is all done well. Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube and the rest of the cast reprise their roles really well and that contributes a ton to the overall feel. This is a film that doesn't try to be more than it is, a sequel cashing in on the success of the original. The biggest difference is, '22 Jump Street' nails it completely.

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This Is The End [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Oh Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, you somehow take a lacking comedy year and turn it on it's head with this comedy, action, apocalyptic, horror laugh riot. These are the guys who have brought us Superbad and Pineapple Express, the latter being one of my favorite comedies of the 2000s. You all know Seth Rogen and his crew by now. Most all them appear in each others movies as main characters, cameos, writers or producers. These guys form a close knit team that have been in the business of comedy for the past decade. From Knocked Up to Forgetting Sarah Marshall these guys can always be found in at least a pair in some of the biggest comedies since 2000. This Is The End is not the movie you think you're gonna see from the trailers. It quickly turns into the most outrageous inside joke you'll ever be apart of as these guys try to survive as exaggerated versions of themselves in this post apocalyptic comedy.

This Is The End follows the story of James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson as they ride out the apocalypse in James Franco's home. The movie opens with Jay arriving in LA to hang out with Seth. They end up playing video games and smoking weed all day. Seth informs Jay of a housewarming party Franco is throwing, and says that they should go. Jay is apprehensive, cause he's not really friends with Franco and Jonah the way Rogen is. Jay eventually agrees and they head to the party. A who's who of comedians are there including a coked up Michael Cera, Jason Segel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari and even Emma Watson and Rihanna. Halfway through the party, Jay needs a breather, so he and Seth go to get some smokes. That's when everything goes south. While at convenience store, blue lights start sucking people into the sky and mass panic ensues. Jay and Seth rush back to Franco's house where it seems like nothing has happened. Jay tries to warm the party goers to no avail. A tremor shakes the house and everyone rushes outside to see LA engulfed in flames. A sink hole opens up and swallows a lot of the people, while other just hightail it. Franco, Jonah, Jay, Seth, Danny and Craig survive and decide to hold up in in Franco's house and fortify it. As the apocalypse grows older by the day the group faces trials, such as running out of food and water, self realizations and face their inner demons. The group must band together and figure out how to survive the end of the world.

The worst thing about this movie is actually pacing. I'm dead serious. I've racked my brain around this movie since I saw it Thursday night and the very worst thing I can think of is that. The movie is nearly two hours, and while it doesn't always feel like it, there are draggy scenes throughout this. I think if they had cut 10 minutes out of this, or added five or so at the tail end, it could easily be even better. All my other complaints are pretty minor.  The story is almost too fun, it doesn't take itself seriously as semi-horror and kinda hurts it, especially at the end. While I know this is a comedy and fun is the name of the game, if you're gonna brand it as "post apocalyptic", I can't be laughing at Aziz Ansari falling to his death. If you're gonna give me horror inklings, I can't be laughing at Channing Tatum's butt. I never got the sense that any of the main characters had a chance of dying, even with everything going on around them. The ending is weird as well, not that it's terrible, it's just so out of nowhere I still don't know what to think of it. It's just so abrupt it caught me off guard I think. My only regret is that I now live in a smaller town, and this is the type of movie I'd have loved to see with a huge crowd. Not just me and like six other people. This isn't a knock on the movie at all, but more me venting that I miss living in a big city haha.

The main cast, and even then smaller parts from the cameos, are some of the best exaggerations of themselves ever. Emma Watson was great as the Emma Watson that would kick your ass if you crossed her. Jason Segel had a great little bit part calling out "How I Met Your Mother". While a coked up, womanizer Michael Cera was side splitting. James Franco played the perfect elitist Hollywood guy, only sticking with his best friend in Rogen. Jonah Hill may have the best character in this movie because of the insincerity laced in every line that comes out of his mouth. Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel are the best friends who are at a disconnect in their lives, but neither of them want to admit it to each other. Danny McBride morphs from the lovable jerk to the evil mastermind throughout the course of this. Finally Craig Robinson goes from the happy go lucky Darryl (from "The Office") type guy, to someone who is just trying to fit in and survive with this group. There is no other way to categorize all of these portrayals, than genius. Pick any two, stick them together and they someone is going to make you laugh. Put all of them together, like when they start making sequels to their previous movies, and it becomes a riot. This movie is funny, from start to finish. Sure it takes maybe 15 minutes to get its footing. But once Danny McBride starts making breakfast, oblivious to the apocalypse, This Is The End never lets off the gas pedal. There is a good soundtrack, okay visuals (the CGI in this is surprisingly good) and Franco's house turns out to be one of the best settings for a movie

This Is The End is the best comedy of the year so far, by a landslide. Not only that, for me, it's the best movie of the year released so far. Pacing problems, draggy scenes aside, this is a damn funny movie. It has an abundance of jokes, movies references and bits, jabs at each others careers and callbacks littered throughout. I can't wait to watch this again to pick out all the things I may have missed the first time. The acting is great, the music is good, the visuals are okay and the story is passable. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg haven't broken any new ground with the comedy in this. This is the same comedy style, wrapped around a story about the apocalypse. But you know what? They hit it out of the park.

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Superbad [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Hard to believe it's almost been six years since Superbad hit theaters. I remember seeing this when it came out on DVD after it's initial theatrical run. Since I was a filthy teenager at the time, of course I loved it. I saw it a couple times since, with friends, hanging out with people, etc. But this is the first time I've actually watched it again and focused in on the story, jokes and all the little nuances of this movie. Seth Rogen co-wrote one of the best raunchy coming of age teen comedies of all time. Though it's still behind the likes of Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Dazed and Confused. Superbad is one of the modern comedies that really sort-of captured what it felt like for the less popular kids at the end of high-school.

Superbad follows the story of Seth, Evan and Fogell (Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Chrisopher Mintz-Plasse). They are in their senior year of high-school and Evan and Fogell have gotten into different schools than Seth. Seth is paired with a girl named Jules (Emma Stone) in their home-ec class one day. She invites him to a party she's throwing since her parents are out of town. Since that day Fogell is getting a fake ID, Seth offers to being the alcohol to the party. Fogell shows the ID to Seth and Evan later in the day, but they highly dislike it for many reasons, including the name being only listed as "McLovin'". Seth decides that they have to use the ID and gives Fogell the list of alcohol to get. The ID works, but as he's paying a thief runs in, punches Fogell and steals the money form the cash register. The police are called and two cops, Slater and Michaels (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen) take statements from everyone. Seth and Evan decide that Fogell is a lost cause and leave to go to a party with a guy who hit Seth with his car. Meanwhile Fogell gets a impromptu ride-along. The two groups go in drastically different directions en route to Jules' party. Seth and Evan deal with the idea of finally being separated going to different schools, while Fogell gets once in a lifetime advice from two unorthodox cops.

This is one of Apatow's five best comedies during the years of 2004 to 2007. Where arguably he had his best comedies made. Anchorman, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Talladega Nights and Knocked Up are some of my favorite comedies of all time and Superbad stands with them pretty well. Co-written by Seth Rogen there's a ton of great one-liners and dialogue in one of the most raunchy and perverted movies you'll ever see. From a kid with an addiction to drawing penises, to a buddy cop duo so irreverent that would make anyone join the force, this movie is a lot more than over using curse words. The interactions between the characters, especially scenes involving the main three, are great. I was a high-school kid once upon a time, as I'm sure most people reading this are. We would try to put on acts in front of out parents or teachers, but we all wanted to be the cool kids. Cursing, cracking inappropriate jokes and sneaking around was apart of growing up. Though maybe not as much to this scale for a lot of us. The plot for this is pretty straightforward, though done in a way that was unique to help the comedy along. I mean kids getting a bad fake ID to buy booze for a party sounds really dull. Throwing in the "cool" cops, the older man going through a rough patch hitting a kid with his car and the high-school crushes we all had, makes the story more real and relatable. The music was an awesome touch as well, as it wasn't just generic party music. Exclusive jazz tracks by Lyle Workman and even a shout-out to The Roots, make this music in this pop.

There are a couple drawbacks to this though for me. Aside from the main five there's not a ton of character development. I would've loved to see Jules and Becca get more screen time as they were the main girls and it felt like we didn't REALLY get to know their characters till the last 30 minutes or so of the movie. Emma Stone has a great comedic air about her and this being one of her first movies I guess they didn't wanna test those waters too much. Now I've seen both versions of this, the theatrical and unrated editions. Both felt long to me, with the unrated sometimes being a chore. There's a ton of dragging or unnecessary scenes. The bar scene, while funny, could've been made shorter or cut. Also the parallel scene with Seth and Evan at the strangers party, while again funny, could've been cut down at the very least. Length is a huge plus or minus for me with movies. Nearly two hour comedies take a lot to be good the whole time. Cutting stuff definitely would've made this movie in that tier with something like 40-Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up. One more thing, and I say this with a lot of movies since a lot are filmed in LA, try to take advantage of the LA scenery. LA, from everything I've seen over the years is a beautiful place. Put in some pull backs, shots of famous landmarks or skylines. It doesn't hurt ANY movie to do that.

This is really one of the last few great Apatow produced movies before his slide began in 2009 after Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers and Pineapple Express. Seth Rogen co-wrote one of the great coming of age comedies of all time. Jonah Hill, established himself as a great lead for comedies, Michael Cera cemented himself as the type-cast timid funny man and Christopher Mintz-Plasse may have unfortunately given himself "McLovin'" for life. The length is something that I get by because Bill Hader and Seth Rogen play off each other so well in so many scenes. Even the long or unneeded ones. There is plenty of laughs that still stand today in whatever version you do watch and this is a good comedy to go back to every once in awhile.

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