Thursday, May 27, 2010

Pirate Radio Order Now


When I saw this in the theatre, I kind of enjoyed it. I went to Canada to see it, thinking I wouldn't be subjected
to terrible US previews and ads, but if anything, they were worse, and even longer, and it was $11.00CDN. Not a good
time. I'd gone hoping to love the movie(despite many negative reviews of the earlier released UK version, "The Boat
That Rocked". Unfortunately, I didn't love it. I found it hard to even like it, and now, after watching my UK Region
2 DVD, my disappointment in this movie is slipping inexorably towards downright loathing.
The humor makes me think that the film needn't have been retitled, except to add "National Lampoon's" before the title:
it's that sort of sophomoric humor.
It's really a shame, because there's a great nucleus of a cast here: Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Ifans, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, and Nick Frost, but when the script basically stinks, what's a cast to do?(Not that I don't like low-
brow humor- I own multiple versions of all the View Askew films, and both Zoolander & Bubble Boy are among my guilty
pleasures, and South Park Studios has a shortcut on my desktop). I've been a Nick Frost fan since I caught "Spaced"
and "Black Books" in the UK, and possibly Frost's cohort Simon Pegg could have added something here. I actually didn't
think of Pegg when I saw this in the theatre, but watching the DVD, Pegg might possibly have added to this film. Bill
Nighy has been one of my faves since Still Crazy, and ditto Kenneth Branagh since Dead Again, but I was actually
embarrassed for them both.
After I first saw "Pirate Radio", I gave it 3 stars. Now, after watching the UK DVD of it, it's sinking slowly in the
West, maybe 2.5.
I'd mercifully forgotten Jack Davenport's Twatt character, but when he was introduced to Ms Clitt(called Miss C in the
credits) that was all she wrote.
That's not the type of humor I'd expect from Richard Curtis, it's more in Mike Myers' "let's hit the viewer over the head
to make sure they get how funny we are" vein.
I couldn't fault the soundtrack: late 60's rock is the soundtrack of my life, but in the case of this film, it may already
be time for a remake.Get more detail about Pirate Radio.

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