Review of The Boat That Rocked (2009) by Leapday — 31 Aug 2014

Loud, obnoxious, offensive pile of rubbish is possibly the worst "rock and roll movie" ever made. Insulting to the actual Pirate Radio DJs who risked life and limb to do their shows on a boat in the middle of the English Channel, this nonsense is full of obscenely anachronistic music.

(songs that weren't even released until 1968 or as late as 1970-71 appear in scenes purporting to occur in 1966-7). Kenneth Branagh's Hitler mustache is ridiculous, the staged set pieces of "typical listeners" dancing to the music on their radio is embarrassing, and the film finally gives up any semblance of sanity by ditching the whole storyline to stage an all-hands salute to The Poseidon Adventure.

Pirate Radio was destroyed by the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, a political ruse claiming the stations' signals interfered with legitimate distress signals. While you may enjoy spotting cast members from The IT Crowd, Elementary, and Mad Men (!) in supporting roles, Bill Nighy wisely confines himself offscreen to his cabin as much as possible and this headache-inducing nonsense should be buried at sea.