Pirate Radio
Bill Nighy weighs anchor in John Curtis's funny on the seas comedy
Bill Nighy leads a merry cast as a modern day pirate in Richard Curtis’s whimsical Pirate Radio, a fitting 60s comic tribute to a rogue rock music station that British authorities tried to shoot down. Along for the rocky road are Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Rhys Ifans who have a field day spinning tunes at sea.
Pirates are in. Whether you’re talking the Johnny Depp swashbuckler type or those pesky water-borne terrorists off the coast of Somalia these seaside renegades have risen in popularity across the globe. Hot on the heels of this uptake comes Pirate Radio, a bit of Cockney chicanery laced in truth. Heed films that take longer to cross the Atlantic as this movie has already been out in Europe for months. And what’s with the shortened version for people in Canada and the United States. Shown earlier in Europe Pirate Radio comes in at 117 minutes meaning the film was “tightened up” somewhat to streamline the jokes for North American tastes.
Based on a true story, Pirate Radio goes by a number of names. Overseas it’s called Good Morning England as well as The Boat That Rocked. At the core of this story, however, is a true event that saw a rag tag operation take hold on the high seas when the British Government banned rock radio from the masses. Needless to say, the experiment did not work and, to coin a phrase popularized by American pop stars Sonny and Cher, The Beat Goes On.
Top Writer Richard Curtis continues to mount Effective British Comedies this timing setting his sights on a Conservative Government with a Hate On for Change.
Swinging 60s well represented on the Waves
Not missing a beat is top British comedy producer Richard Curtis (Love Actually) who directed and wrote this story. Go back in time to the swinging 60s, the time when Sean Connery ruled the box office as James Bond and rock and roll was beginning to take off. With that message of rebellion the authorities could not stomach the lyrics and those audacious disk jockeys helped fan the flames that turned on a nation and enraged an uptight conservative government.
In order to skirt the authorities a savvy entrepreneur named Quentin took to the seas and, in what looks like a rather dilapidated fishing vessel, set up shop. Programmers and technicians and the oddest set of disc jockeys followed. Natural rivalries between the staff of egos quickly ensued with a landlocked population eating it all up. Bill Nighy uses that rapier wit and British charm to rule the day as a funky entrepreneur willing to snub his nose at the establishment.
Yes, there is a great atmosphere on board the vessel and the characters are funny. Standouts in this lot of creative visionaries are Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean) who’s delightfully delicious as the rambunctious owner of the boat with Philip Seymour Hoffman(Mission Impossible III) trying to keep up American pride while Rhys Ifans embodies the bad in the business.
Women get Short Shift while at Sea
Being largely male dominated there’s little time for the ladies but when they’re “employed” some shots are funny though too predictable. Unfortunately the ending also comes up rather lame as we all know what’s going to happen. Under lots of make-up Kenneth Branagh shines as a by the book politician who has a passion to protect the morals of the nation from going down the drain. Lots of pop hits from the early 60s does properly take you back in time and does so rather effectively though for some reason a “small” sound created by four lads from Liverpool doesn’t quite make the grade (arguably the costs of obtaining those sound segments from Michael Jackson’s estate proved a bit too costly).
During the time rock and roll was beginning there was much anxiety and excitement that Pirate Radio does manage to milk. Still, segments involving a wayward boy and an effort to save a sinking ship go on too long and muddle things up.
On balance, if you like rock music you should enjoy Pirate Radio, especially if you’re a Bill Nighy fan who reminds one of the old charm and style of the Carry On gang or dare I say even Benny Hill, though his humour and delivery is much more deadpan than bawdy and overly more acceptable.
Bill Nighy
|
More in Film & TV
Latest Articles