Pirate Radio Review

Posted by Joseph Lee on 11.16.2009

Let's rock.




Starring:

*Phillip Seymour Hoffman as The Count
*Bill Nighy as Quentin
*Rhys Ifans as Gavin
*Nick Frost as Dr. Dave
*Tom Sturridge as Carl
*Chris O'Dowd as Simon
*Rhys Darby as Angus
*Jack Davenport as Twatt
*Emma Thompson as Charlotte
*Kenneth Branagh as Minister Dormandy

Story: A band of rogue DJs plays rock music on a boat after that particular genre of music has been made illegal by the British government.

Trivia: This film is very loosely based on Radio Caroline, a popular pirate radio ship with a similar history and style. It was director Richard Curtis's intention to weave a fictional story around the many pirate stations of that era, rather than base the story on a factual story.

Pirate Radio or The Boat That Rocked as it was called in the UK, was promoted here as a tale of when the British government banned rock and roll music and that forced a rogue band of DJ's onto international waters to broadcast rock when no one else would. That's not entirely accurate, as this is only loosely based on similar events regarding pirate radio ships. The government of Britain never actually banned the entire genre of music, but there were ships similar to the one in the film that would broadcast on international waters, likely to avoid the rules associated with normal radio stations. This film in particular is loosely based on Radio Caroline, one of the popular ships during the golden age of rock and pirate radio.

The first thing I should say is that you like the music of this era you will love this movie. It's a love letter to all of the popular music of the era as you're sure to catch bits of everything from Jimi Hendrix and The Who to Otis Redding and The Supremes. It's more than rock, it adds a little of pop and soul in there too. Because this is about radio DJ's, you can expect to hear a lot of music in the foreground or background. It's all decent and in all honesty the soundtrack actually enhances the film. I don't normally notice the score or a soundtrack unless it's really good and this time I noticed.

I also loved the cast of both British and American actors. You've got a stellar lineup including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh. It goes without saying that all three are able to hold up their end of things. Hoffman plays "The Count", an American DJ come over to help in the efforts of this new pirate radio scheme. Nighy plays Quentin, the man in charge of the boat. It seems the man is on autopilot in some of the things he does, but even on autopilot he's good. Kenneth Branagh gets to play the bad guy and he's very good at it. He's the slimy government official you love to hate as he tries to shut down this radio station just because he doesn't like the music.

In addition to the heavyweights we also have a few character actors stepping up to provide strong supporting performances. Nick Frost, who you may remember from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, plays Dr. Dave, a DJ who is somehow very good with the ladies in spite of his girth. Rhys Darby of Flight of the Conchords fame plays Angus, and he's essentially the exact same character as Murray on the aforementioned show. Jack Davenport plays Twatt, the lackey of Branagh's Minister Dormandy with the unfortunate name. Tom Sturridge plays Carl in one of his biggest roles and he comes through. I find his role in this film similar to that of Patrick Fugit in Almost Famous. He's basically just along for the ride with all of these crazy guys who work in music.

The acting is really good here and it helps bring up the script which is full of wit and humor. It could be the staff of Radio Rock throwing verbal barbs at one another or the drug and sex antics that follow after, but this movie never takes itself too seriously. There are points when yes, it could have become real preachy about the freedom of broadcast and listening to whatever music you choose. Luckily Pirate Radio is able to avoid these pitfalls and comes through on the comedy end.

If I have any flaws, they are minor. The first is that this movie tends to drag just a little bit. It never gets boring, but the length is noticeable and I would say about ten minutes could have been shaved off. I understand The Boat That Rocked was even longer. What would I remove? Probably some of the hijinks that occur aboard Rock Radio. While I do appreciate the fact it doesn't try to preach about freedoms of broadcasting, I do wish that it would have focused a little more on the fact these guys were doing something illegal. There are times when we ignore that fact entirely and focus on the partying. By the end of the movie I was partied out.

But those minor grievances aside, I really enjoyed Pirate Radio. It's fun, it has a great soundtrack and some strong performances from it's incredibly talented cast. It's hard to say this without using a cliche, so won't try. It's a feel-good movie.

The 411: Pirate Radio is a fun movie to listen to and to watch. It has a great cast of colorful characters, some witty lines and comedy as well as a great soundtrack full of classic songs. I wish they had focused more on the broadcasting against the government's wishes and less on the shenanigans of the group, however. But it's still an enjoyable film and one that I recommend.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]