It may not be such a bad thing that Seth Rogen’s new movie “The Interview” was pulled from release by Sony Pictures after all. This is considering its poor reception amongst the critics.
While moviegoers worldwide might not be able to see “The Interview, ” at least some critics did get to see it at the film’s official premiere. The movie review site Rotten Tomatoes only gave it a rating of 53%.
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It’s a shame, though, that the movie was pulled. With all of the controversy over it, the Great Sony Hack of 2014, and the threats of violence against theaters that would have had the balls to screen it, “The Interview” was sure to be a hit even with a zero rating.
Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “In the real world, a debate has been raging over what does and doesn’t constitute torture. In the movie world, there’s no debate; watching ‘The Interview’ is torture from almost start to finish.”
“So how did such a turkey ever escape the studio lot? A significant part of the answer lies in the dumbing-down of the audience that began decades ago, when studios discovered that kids would turn out to see almost any piece of junk on any weekend provided the marketing departments did their jobs.”
The New York Post’s Sara Stewart said, “As Franco’s Skylark is fond of saying, ‘Haters gonna hate, and ain’t-ers gonna ain’t.’ Hate to say it, but this film ain’t half the satire it could have been.”
Entertainment Weekly’s Joe McGovern wrote, “it’s a pity that the film is bereft of satiric zing, bludgeoning the laughs with a nonstop sledgehammer of bro humor. The jokes, such as one that necessitates that Rogen hide a steel canister in his rectum, are told once, then again, then a third time, then remarked upon: ‘’That was a little embarrassing!’ and ‘That was so funny!’’ Unlike in Superbad and Pineapple Express, which were written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg yet directed — crucially — by other people, the farce lacks finesse, which is especially true of Franco’s assaulting, unspontaneous performance. Gesturing madly with every move, the actor doesn’t deliver a single line straight.”
