Bay Area moviegoers see 'Interview’ as 'patriotic duty’

Kraig Roscoe, center, of Dixon and his friends, Geo Ventura, left, and Maddie Aguilar, far left, wait in line to pick up their pre-paid tickets as atrons gathered at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, Calif., on Thursday, December 25, 2014, to watch the movie, "The Interview." Following the controversial hacking scandal that hit Sony Pictures and threats of violence if the movie was released, Sony did an about face and released the movie after criticism of its decision not to show the movie. less Kraig Roscoe, center, of Dixon and his friends, Geo Ventura, left, and Maddie Aguilar, far left, wait in line to pick up their pre-paid tickets as atrons gathered at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, Calif., on ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Bay Area moviegoers see 'Interview’ as 'patriotic duty’ 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

World harmony came on Christmas when the great peoples of America and North Korea decided they both were being made to look like idiots in equal measure on the big screen.

“The Interview,” the movie comedy that sparked an international kerfuffle, opened for business and did a lot of it. Many ticket buyers said they probably would have skipped the picture but for the fuss over it raised in recent days by such unlikely publicists as the State Department, the North Korean government and President Obama.

“This is the greatest publicity stunt ever promulgated in the history of advertising,” said Allen Leggett of Berkeley, who was standing in line in south Berkeley for the noon screening.

Like his fellow popcorn buyers, he said he wasn’t scared by threats.

“North Korea,” Leggett said, “has a lot more important things to deal with than my going to a movie.”

Lines began forming in front of the Rialto theater at College and Ashby avenues an hour before the first screening. For the first time ever, the theater posted a “no backpacks or packages” sign and hired a security guard to inspect purses.

“There’s nothing inside but lipstick,” said Melanie Graham of Monterey, after the guard took a peek. “But this is my patriotic duty. If I can open my purse at the airport and the ballpark, why not here?”

Sony hacking

The movie that theatergoers were being patriotic for tells how the CIA recruits an airhead TV host to poison the leader of North Korea. The North Korean government found that plot point less than amusing and, according to reports, hacked Sony Pictures’ computer system and threatened theater owners. Last week, the movie studio backed down and said it would not release the movie.

But Tuesday, Sony said it was backing down from its backing down. It made the movie available online on Wednesday, at $6 per viewing. And it released the movie to hundreds of theaters nationwide, including the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, where tickets cost $11 each.

Early reports predicted the picture would be flat-out awful, but most moviegoers said it was OK. Not great, not terrible, but somewhere in the broad, non-Oscar continuum of Hollywood popcorn fodder. Opening day customers called it equal parts slapstick, spoof, bedroom humor, bathroom humor, and other unlikely First Amendment rallying points.

While the North Korean leader is certainly the bad guy and chief target, the film also takes a whack at the CIA, the “Lord of the Rings” movies, basketball player Dennis Rodman and entertainers Katy Perry, Eminem, Rob Lowe, Ellen DeGeneres, Matthew McConaughey and Richard Nixon. Also coming in for it are North Face parkas and Pirate’s Booty cheese puffs.

The controversy had as good a plot as the movie. Insiders said Sony could not have wished for a better Christmas present than to have a minor picture become the focus of an international dust-up.

The computer hacking of Sony seemed to have revealed little beside big-shot salaries, employee Social Security numbers and catty inter-office memos. But then the North Korean Internet system was hacked in return, by persons or governments unknown, and no less a film buff than President Obama criticized Sony for its initial decision to withhold the movie.

Theater owners got with the program and all of a sudden the First Amendment found itself tossed into the mix, among co-star Seth Rogen’s potty jokes. Rialto theater proprietor Ky Boyd said he “believed in free speech,” along presumably with making a living.

That put the picture at the top of the must-see list, although many wanted less to see the movie than to see what the fuss was about. Either way, the price of a ticket was the same.

At the Rialto there were no incidents, except when a Chronicle reporter accidentally knocked over a wooden “no parking” sign and the resulting bang echoed down College Avenue and made a handful of patrons jump and gaze around.

“Sounded like a gunshot to me,” said Carrie Joy, from San Pablo. “Wow.”

Defending the sacred

After calming down, she said it was an honor to “stand up for our rights” for the price of a movie ticket. She said she was more scared of the next earthquake than an anti-stoner-movie terrorist plot.

David Hanks of Oakland said freedom of speech was “sacred” and that Christmas was a “good day to defend sacred things.”

Other moviegoers said they were more concerned with the quality of the movie than the Bill of Rights or their personal survival. The bomb they were hoping to avoid was onscreen.

“There’s not a chance of this movie living up to the free hype,” said moviegoer Adrian Kaylor of Oakland. “But it just might edge out 'Caddyshack 2.’”

Steve Rubenstein is a freelance writer.