Review of In the Loop (2009) by Belén A — 09 Apr 2010

A rather hilarious portrayal of what the lead-up to the Iraq war could have actually been like. Well, maybe not portrayal, but certainly a good spoof of it. Great writing gives this movie its glory. It's too bad that the overall plot is not better.

Sure, the goofiness that abounds over the lead-up to a potential war is humorous but at times it felt like more was needed to keep the story going, sort of a running in place concept in a way. The acting and character associations were hit-and-miss too.

Peter Capaldi as British PM's spin doctor is phenomenal. He was so funny and he pulls the role off so well; a consistently cursing (and some very funny curses as well) tough attitude Brit who seems to not believe in a file cabinet as he carries around an assortment of papers all the time, only adding to his character's personality.

Tom Hollander bumbles along making mistake after mistake, not being heard when he needs to be and being heard when he should shut up and he does it all with a subtle brilliance. He does a really good job simply fumbling about, looking to others for assistance yet wanting to stand tall on his own.

Of course, on the other hand, for example, you have Anna Chlumsky (of My Girl fame) who seems like a hollow character, nothing special and doesn't really add to the picture in any way. Also, Chris Addison, who play the assistant to Hollander's character, is kind of just there.

His role is weak and he performs it well, perhaps too well because there is no feeling for him. I found myself hoping there would be less of him as the movie went on, sadly he is there to the end. Overall though, this movie combines the cheekiness of British humor with the vulgarity of American humor and turns out what could be considered a winner.

At the very least, the screenplay is excellent, such great lines delivered by some decent actors.