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Simon B. Is Lightly Jostled By Richard Curtis's THE BOAT THAT ROCKED!!!

Published at: March 18, 2009, 8:01 p.m. CST

Beaks here...

Anyone ready for another articulate, inoffensive film from Richard Curtis? Though the title THE BOAT THAT ROCKED promises something a little more raucous than, say, LOVE ACTUALLY, it sounds like the Britain's King of Light Comedy has once again delivered a film that pretty much vanishes from memory once you leave the theater. I've nothing against Curtis's recent output, but I do miss the wit who gave us THE TALL MAN and four incredible seasons of BLACKADDER (w/ Rowan Atkinson and Ben Elton). That said, I'll certainly give THE BOAT THAT ROCKED a shot, and I'm sure I'll kinda-sorta enjoy it more than I should. Let's see what Simon B. thought...

Long time reader of the site, emailing all the way from Manchester in the UK. I just got back from a press screening of the new Richard Curtis film The Boat That Rocked starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman among others. Three of the films stars were in attendance, Nick Frost, Tom Sturridge and Chris O’ Dowd. The movie’s not released here for another couple of weeks and won’t hit American screens until August so I thought I would give you the heads up on what I made of it. It’s England, it’s the sixties. Sideburns are cool, clothes are too brightly coloured and rock and roll is considered a taboo. Richard Curtis’ second film is pretty much what you might expect from the guy who wrote Love Actually, Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral; a who’s who of British comedy talent with an American twist thrown in, although this time minus all the love-y stuff. But behind the impressive cast and cool soundtrack The Boat That Rocked fails to be much more than a brief lesson in rock music’s journey to mainstream radio. Set on a floating pirate radio station the movie’s main plot centers around a crew of disc jockeys who provide around the clock rock relief for an uptight Britain. So uptight in fact that it seems the government, lead by Kenneth Branagh, have nothing better to do but place all their efforts into pulling the plug on them. And its here where the problems start to arise as that’s basically the whole plot. Sure things happen in between: the return of a legendary DJ played by a Liam Gallagher-esque Rhys Ifans, a misinterpreted marriage, but the film takes its time to reach the conclusion that you’ve probably already predicted yourself half way through. Clocking in at about 130 minutes, the movie does go on for too long. Although it boasts a talented ensemble cast, unfortunately none of them are given adequate time to shine. It feels like you're always waiting for Rhys Darby or Bill Nighy to have their moment, but sadly it never quite arrives. That’s not to say there’s nothing here to like. The character of Thick Kevin played by Tom Brooke raised a few laughs, albeit being maybe a little too similar to the character Baldrick from the Curtis penned Blackadder (for all of you not familiar, probably one of the best British situation comedies) series. Pirates of the Caribbean star Jack Davenport brought the laughs, purely from his characters name: Mr Twatt. And Nick Frost does have his moments. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the only American DJ on board brings some cool to the ship, but feels severely under used. The same can be said for most of the cast really many of them never really finding their purpose. But this could all be nit picking. With almost each scene scored with a cool song, it’ll take your mind off the negative aspects, temporarily. Really hope this can be used on the site. If so, could you call me Simon B.

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