After watching The Interview, I am now certain Sony is behind its own hacking scandal. The movie has received such notoriety and press that it seems almost un-American not to watch it now--even though it is actually quite terrible.

The Interview is about two idiots--an entertainment television host (James Franco) and his producer (Seth Rogen)--who travel to North Korea to interview and assassinate Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. The plot is controversial to say the least, though the real controversy arises from Sony's decision to pull the film from theaters shortly before its Christmas Day release date due to a cyberattack and subsequent terror threats that, at least according to the U.S. Government, were waged by the weird-ass country.

And by cutting off supply, Sony increased demand to see the film exponentially.

A little suspicious, hmmm? Just saying.

On the surface, the movie is what you would expect from the minds of Rogen and Franco; The Interview is a loosely strung together collection of scenes that involve the two bantering, lots of penis jokes and other random craziness. This approach worked well for This Is The End, but This Is The End was actually funny. The Interview... isn't.

There is nothing more painful than a comedy that isn't funny, than watching actors attempt to be funny for two hours only to have most of their jokes completely miss the mark. That's what happens here; James Franco especially looks desperately to land a few zingers, seemingly aware of just how bad everything he is saying and doing actually is. The Interview lacks comedic wit, opting for the lowest common denominator at every turn when there is so much better material available. After all, it's a comedy about North Korea. You can make a documentary about this country and offer a weirder, more hilarious experience.

The movie is not completely devoid of humor. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, and as flat as the comedy is, The Interview is fast paced and mildly entertaining more often than not.

But The Interview fails to take full advantage of its premise. It needed to poke more fun at the real-life absurdities North Korea is known for and treat the country and its leader as the source of humor, rather than rudimentary jokes that have been used to greater effect in other, better movies.

Sony probably didn't hack itself, but the hack has resulted in more buzz and excitement for a movie that deserves neither.

Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.