Drew's

Date Reviewed	11/20/2009
Title	Pirate Radio
Rating
Directed By :	Richard Curtis
Starring :	Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Rhys Darby, Tom Sturridge, Kenneth Branagh and Jack Davenport
Review	New Zealand’s Richard Curtis is a well known writer of movies including the Bridget Jones series, “Notting Hill” and many Rowan Atkinson vehicles. This is his sophomore directorial effort following his 2003 hit “Love, Actually.” It was titled “The Boat That Rocked” close to its release date until moniker didn’t fly with survey audiences and corporate suits. Switched at the last moment to “Pirate Radio”, Curtis writes the tale of a radio station taking place on a boat barely off the coast so that England can listen to rock n roll music. They have to reside floating on the North Sea to avoid breaking land laws, similar to many United States casinos. The government decides to assign a couple of internal men to create reasons to halt their operation. Eight DJs on board maintain the airwaves as these special voices are heard by fifty percent of the entire country. They’re sort of celebrities in their own way. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as The Count, the only American spinning hits. There is no doubt his role in “Almost Famous” serving as a music connoisseur assisted in his casting. And the fact that he is Philip Seymour Hoffman. Bill Nighy joins the party as Quentin, the ships captain. Rhys Ifans never avoids the flamboyant as a competing shipmate named Gavin. He’s a rock star disc jockey to many with an ego that flows overboard. Picture Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger with a turntable and control of the audio! If someone ever requires a British villain that sounds as if Shakespeare was a rogue cop, Kenneth Branagh was born to play him. He’s cast as Sir Alistair Dormandy, a conservative authority figure, that loves nothing more than to remove the smiles from anyone enjoy themselves. He’s the metaphorical stick in the mud with a pole up his ass. Many other vivid and animated personalities consume the boat and flood the film with life and laughs. The picture is about the fight for freedom in a completely non-serious format. It’s a highly comedic effort with several amusing moments along with a heavy amount of silly ones. This is as light and breezy of a battle for harmless rights of free speech that could be translated to screen. The bad guys aren’t that bad and the good guys aren’t that good either. It’s a frolicking sweet natured feature about sex, drugs and rock n roll that remains focused on the music without major side effects from the other two involved. It could be perceived as the favorable corny side of lightness. “Pirate Radio” has a strong Howard Stern appeal mixed with “Talk to Me” starring Don Cheadle. The finale has a very “Titanic” conclusion since the boat is its own character. It’s not a classic but certainly a playful and entertaining rock n roll feast on the seas. There’s no reason to walk off this plank, mates. Drew's Reviews, copyright 2009, Drewsmoviereviews.com, property of Drew Bean.