LOS ANGELES: Entertainment giant Sony on Wednesday streamed “The Interview,” the movie that has outraged North Korea for lampooning dictator Kim Jong-Un, giving an early online Christmas present to US viewers.

The madcap, irreverent R-rated comedy was available for rent in the United States on several platforms, a day before a limited release in about 200 cinemas on Christmas Day.

It was being distributed on Google’s YouTube for a $5.99 rental fee, on the Google Play app for Android devices and on a dedicated website, seetheinterview.com.

A bawdy, expletive-laden tale full of innuendo and scatological humor, the film’s future had been in doubt after Sony said it was canceling the release after an embarrassing cyber-attack on its corporate network and threats against moviegoers.

A kind of a cross between a slapstick James Bond movie and “Hangover,” it is aimed squarely at an audience (most likely teen boys) out for a fun but vacuous night at the cinema.

Almost two hours long, the film depicts how girl-chasing, hard-partying, always fashionable tabloid TV presenter Dave Skylark (Franco) and his bro-romance producer (Rogen), score an exclusive interview with the leader of the world’s most reclusive state.

That’s when the CIA steps in and presents them with a plan to kill Kim.

Once in in Pyongyang, however, Skylark begins to bond with Kim over basketball, Katy Perry songs piped into his Russian-made tank.

Kim’s portrayed as a man deeply scarred by never winning his father’s approval and determined to show the world how tough he can be.

Eventually even Skylark learns the truth about the regime’s brutality, and he sets out to take down Kim by exposing him as a liar during his live interview.

“Kim must die — that’s the American way,” says Skylark, as the plot is hatched.

Much has been made of earlier trailers that showed Kim’s head exploding in a bloody climax, but in the online version that was obscured as he was instead consumed in a ball of missile fire.

“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” said Sony Entertainment chairman Michael Lynton said in a statement.

“Merry X-mas MERICA!!!! THE INTERVIEW IS LIVE!!!!!!!!! Watch it,” Franco said in a message on his Twitter account.