Review of The Boat That Rocked (2009) by Justinsmith — 26 Sep 2010

"These are the best days of our lives." -The Count.

Pirate Radio (Richard Curtis's second time in the director's chair) comes six years after his impressive directorial début, Love Actually (2003). This time Curtis returns with the theme of love intact, but his lack of a big enough story to fill the near two-hour runtime, threatens to capsize Curtis's rock 'n' roll love boat as waves of unnecessary drama, toss the story about on the rock 'n' roll sea.

We jump into the Pirate Radio sea in 1966, things are going good for rock n' roll, offshore pirate radio, and the ship, Radio Rock. Which is getting a new crew member, 'Young' Carl (Tom Sturridge), whose mysterious mum (Emma Thompson) feels it's necessary for Carl to spend some time on Radio Rock with his godfather, Quentin (Bill Nighy), who is the captain/manager of Radio Rock, filled with sex, drugs, alcohol, and did I mention, great rock music. Meanwhile, the British government is working to find a loophole to legally cut off Radio Rock's signal. The problem for the government was that the pirate radio stations were doing nothing illegal, so, as one government official points out, if the government doesn't like something, they pass a law to make it illegal. Pirate Radio has a good story to tell, and it needs telling, especially to the younger generation who knows nothing of this kind of censorship, nor the determination and love put forth by the people who risked their livelihood, and even lives, to bring great rock music to millions across the airwaves.

Many early shots in the film are handheld with fast edits and frantic pacing. As the story evolves and the audience feels at home with the crew of Radio Rock, there are more static shots and less frantic editing. The technique works well here, as the handheld scenes showthe rocking of the boat on the sea, as well as the uncertainty of Radio Rock's future. The heaping helping of rock songs played throughout the film provides most of the soundtrack, and only a few moments have need of a score.

There's a great cast of known and not-so-well-known actors aboard this ship of rock. Bill Nighy, who leads the expedition, is in top form, as always, delivering his lines in the best of deadpan seriousness (his good news/bad news speech is one of his finest moments). Philip Seymour Hoffman keeps the energy alive as The Count, an American DJ whose love of rock has brought him out to the North Sea. Nick Frost is even on board, with a performance that's not on par with his work in Shaun of the Dead (2004) or Hot Fuzz (2007), but still provides plenty of laughs. The remaining cast members are also good in their roles, and you may find a couple to look out for. I especially enjoyed Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke), whose only revelation comes after a night of drinking, Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom), who says very little, even when on the radio, and Bob Silver (Ralph Brown), the deadhead who'll do anything to save his records.

The main flaw of Pirate Radio is too much padded drama with the DJs, most of which takes place over sexual escapades with women, who are only allowed on the boat every other Saturday. It would have been great to see more time spent on real events, instead of fictional spats between characters.

If you're looking for a (mostly) lighthearted adventure at sea, filled with great rock, and interesting characters, or an excuse to educate the younger generation about the long hard road of 1960s rock 'n' roll, Pirate Radio will keep its mast held high and bring you safely into port.