“I’m proud to say that I’ve never had a normal job. I started doing stand-up when I was in high school, purely as a measure to never get a proper job.”
Am I the only one who thinks that this whole hullabaloo over The Interview and North Korea was just one big elaborate PR stunt by Sony to get us to watch another Seth Rogen movie? That media coverage sure brought a lot more attention to the film than it would have otherwise received and after all this talk of it being pulled from theatrical release, it ends up being made available through Google Play and YouTube. Go figure, right?
Perhaps I’m being a little cynical. Perhaps the attacks from supposedly North Korean hackers were real or maybe they were just idle threats. Then again, maybe Sony (ironically a Japanese company) wanted to play up American patriotism to drum up support for Seth Rogen, James Franco and The Interview. Whatever the case may be, you can watch it now, though early reviews are anything but glowing.
The thing is that I like Seth Rogen. I like his brand of comedy and I can’t help but to chuckle when I hear his signature laugh. I also like that he too is from Vancouver and he has said that growing up in this city has shaped his comedic sensibility. It is from that kind of background that we saw the development and release of films like This Is The End and Pineapple Express… and all this coming from a guy who has “never had a normal job.”
He may have the reputation of a lazy stoner, but it’s undeniable that Seth Rogen has carved out a very successful career for himself, one that he is very happy and grateful to have.
“I know most people don’t like their jobs very much and don’t get a lot of personal satisfaction from their jobs. That’s something that I really do get a lot of.”
Did he go too far with The Interview? Did he derive too much personal satisfaction from a silly concept that ticked off the wrong people? I don’t think so. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are certainly not the first ones to poke fun at North Korea and I certainly don’t think they’ll be the last either.
As legends like George Carlin have taught us, a big part of great comedy is about pushing the envelope and saying things that people don’t expect to be said. Indeed, when Stephen Colbert asked Rogen what he thought when Sony requested he change some “real life” elements of The Interview, he stated that he wanted the movie to have one foot in reality.
“Whose feelings are we trying to spare by doing that? Kim Jong Un?”
Don’t watch The Interview because you want to stand up for freedom and American patriotism. Don’t watch it to stick it to the North Koreans. Watch it because Seth Rogen is a funny guy. Or don’t. It really doesn’t matter.
And yes, that’s him in Wolverine costume at the top.
Image credit: Gage Skidmore
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