That's such a Boromir thing to say.

Her name was Bri.

It was early in my teaching career, and yet again, I was dying a slow death in the front of the room. I don't remember fully losing it, but I recall, in that moment, feeling like saying f--k this and walking out. Bri, sitting to my left, motioned me over. Mr. Brown, come here. As I got to her, she raised her right hand and extended her index finger to the ringleader of the chaos on the other side of the room. Matter-of-factly, though with a hint of discernible disappointment, she said (and I'll never forget this):

You're letting that upset you?

Like essentially everyone I know offline, I dove in to The Interview the moment it hit Netflix. And while I certainly knew enough about the 'national incident' the film had become, honestly? I expected something more.

As they have proven over a couple of films together, James Franco and Seth Rogen stick to a simple, and in my opinion - proven, formula. Rogen plays the thankless straight man dealing with Franco's unrelenting ridiculousness. But before, no one really cared in the least. I guess third-rate pot dealers and self-absorbed celebrities are a lot harder to offend than foreign dictators, huh?

I feel like I'd be insulting you, further anyway, if I detailed the plot even for a second. The real question you should concern yourself with, is is this movie funny? The simple answer is yes, even though The Interview is lighter on laughs than either Pineapple Express or This is the End [review]. That said, it still cracked me up enough to recommend it.

Speaking of being light on laughs, here are the Yays and Boos. I was originally going to release them on Christmas Day, but decided against it. Oh, and I hadn't seen the movie yet...so they were really going to suck balls.

YAAAAaaaaaAAAAAy!

• That opening song was pretty funny. May your women be raped by beasts of the jungle.
• As much as I thought Eminem coming out was worth a laugh, the fact that Gay Twitter is blowing up! damn near killed me.
• Even though I can't imagine Dave Skylark watching a minute of the original trilogy, I dug all the Lord of the Rings references.
• Speaking of Skylark, just about everything Franco says is borderline hysterical. For time's sake, let me try to boil it down to a top 5.
• #5. Fake glasses?
• #4. Don't shoot. I have a puppy!
• #3. It's pronounced STALLONE.
• #2. Cunt punt that f--king bitch!
• #1. Yo, my dick stinks!
• It's 900% absurd, but the running joke about Kim not having a butthole routinely killed me.
• As did any mention or explanation of honeydicking.
• The absurd level of violence was totally welcome. Though, I'm usually good with one finger being bitten off. Fine, two. But that's my limit.
• The soundtrack. I think Rogen and crew are like f--king Jedi's when it comes to finding a tasty jam, as almost every selected song absolutely nails it. I'm Afraid of Americans being a particular stand-out. Wind of Change, too.
• And finally, the scene where Dave insists on shooting Kim on camera. His porno analogy makes me laugh every single time I think about it. Potentially even funnier (though infinitely more awkward)? Watching that scene a second time...with my mom.

Booooo!

• Matthew McConaughey could do better than a goat. Perhaps a dolphin?
• It's not cool to make fun of someone who enjoys the occasional Katy Perry song. Or ten. Screw you guys.
• Does Rogen always get laid in these movies? And is the girl always pretty hot, right? What the shit is this?
• Is Lizzy Caplan hot? I can't decide. I hate that.
• And finally, even though I liked the movie, there was a part of me, that as the credits rolled, couldn't help but think that's it? The President addressed THIS?

In school, my students and I have just completed reading Animal Farm. And the following Monday after The Interview hit Netflix, at least five hands went up in each period, mid chapter!, where someone would ask if I'd seen this movie. I'd begrudgingly say yes, assuming they had made the connection between the oppression forced by a tyrannical leader in each work. But when I pressed, they had no clue what I was talking about in the least. Almost a month spent talking about communism, and not a single student picked that up from The Interview. 

Surprised? Sure. But upset? 

Not even a little bit.