Salt Lake Tribune Review
I can think of two things wrong with "Pirate Radio."
One is the generic title, a switch from the original name, "The Boat That Rocked." The other is that, while the events depicted take place in the British rock scene of 1966 and 1967, one key scene is set to The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- which was released in 1971.
Other than those picayune issues, "Pirate Radio" is a bloody perfect comedy, a rollicking rock 'n' roll farce brimming with raunchy humor and characters who will charm your socks off.
The true backstory, presented in a quick over-the-credits montage, is that Britain's only licensed radio network, the BBC, played very little recorded music in 1966 -- and no rock music, in an era when rock 'n' roll was one of Britain's leading exports. Think The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, etc.
With that as prologue, writer-director
Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," "Love Actually") creates a fictional unlicensed station, Radio Rock, broadcasting to millions of British fans 24/7 from a rickety boat anchored in the North Sea. The station's rather dotty owner, Quentin (
Bill Nighy, best known as the squid-faced Davy Jones in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films), welcomes aboard his godson, Carl (Tom Sturridge), recently expelled from school. "So your mum sent you here in the hope that a little bracing sea air would sort you out?... Spectactular mistake," Quentin muses.
Carl soon becomes the mascot to Quentin's ragtag bunch of DJs: The Count (
Philip Seymour Hoffman), a scruffy American; the smooth-talking Big Dave (
Nick Frost, from "Shaun of the Dead"); the silent but sexy Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom); the sweetly innocent Simon (Chris O'Dowd); the clueless comic Angus ("Flight of the Conchords' "
Rhys Darby); the appropriately named Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke); and the reclusive Smooth Bob (Ralph Jones). A later arrival, Quentin's strutting former star DJ, Gavin Cavanagh (
Rhys Ifans), stirs up professional tension with The Count -- and sexual tension during the biweekly visits of the crew's girlfriends.
Meanwhile, an officious cabinet minister, Sir Alistair Dormandy (
Kenneth Branagh), has vowed to shut down Radio Rock and the other pirate stations. Dormandy and his chief staffer, the unfortunately named Twatt (
Jack Davenport,
Keira Knightley's jilted fiancé in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films), look for legal ways to shut down the radio stations -- in spite of their widespread popularity.
Curtis celebrates the free spirit of the mid-'60s, happily fulfilling the three requirements of the era -- sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll -- though the first two arrive with typical British discretion and wit, while the third fills the kicky soundtrack. The movie moves episodically and flits lightly around the delightful characters, turning the camera into a very mobile fly on the wall. (The movie has been trimmed by 20 minutes for the U.S. release, so the DVD's deleted scenes will be rich.)
The ensemble cast melds well, with Hoffman, Ifans, Darby and Katherine Parkinson (as the boat's mousy lesbian cook) making impressive turns. The standout is Nighy, a gangly Pied Piper in a Carnaby Street suit, merrily riding herd on his misfit music spinners -- the walking symbol of the sharp wit and off-the-wall humor that keep "Pirate Radio" afloat.
-- Sean P. Means
The Pirates That Saved the World (as we know it)
Submitted by: Bill McGee
A great cast, an epic soundtrack, and the story of an essential, pivotal, and nearly forgotten moment in the history of rock-n-roll. I wish the story had gone on to explain that many of these pirate DJs went on to be hired by the very British government (BBC) that sought their demise. It's a great "triumph of everyman over big government" story that not only makes for compelling viewing, but is especially relevant today. Heartwarming, funny, and relevant. What more do you want from a movie?
Pirate Radio
Submitted by: Leemun
This is a compelling story that took me back to my days the sixties in Europe when popular music was practically unavailable from the government controlled radio stations. This was a time when there were few if any independent stations anywhere in Europe. Remember, this was also the heyday of classic rock. What's a young person to do? Listen to the clandestine stations like Radio Caroline broadcasting from a ship off the British coast!
This is the story of the fictional Radio Rock, based on a ship in international waters. The freewheeling DJs play the hits, but also supply talk interspersed with commercials. Nothing new to Americans, but a total departure for Europeans. The listeners idolize the radio personalities. This motley collection of misfits actually live a squalid shipboard existence when not on the air, a perfect breeding ground for either boredom or hijinx, guess which, puctuated with conjugal visits from boatloads of wives and girlfriends. The oddball characters are well developed and fascinating.
Enter a young man in his late teens expelled from his private school and taken in by the owner of the ship/station. The story is told through his eyes as he acclimates to this odd new life. Of course, a lovely hip young girl appears. The plot rolls as bureacrats scheme to shut the station down, and the ship is met with numerous seafaring adventures.
The movie is enhanced by skilled, experienced directing by Richard Curtis, interesting costuming, and best of all, the music. I can't wait to get my hands on the soundtrack. All a treat, even for old guys like me.
The rundown: Rebel DJs in the North Sea blast rock music to Britain in the '60s, in this witty, rollicking comedy.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and
Bill Nighy star. 115 minutes. (SPM)
Synopsis: In Britain 1966 recently expelled student, Carl has been sent by his mother to find some direction in life by visiting his godfather, Quentin. However, Quentin is the boss of Radio Rock, a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea, populated by an eclectic crew of rock-and-roll deejays. Life on the North Sea is eventful. Carl discovers the opposite sex and who his real father is. Meanwhile, pirate stations have come to the attention of government minister Dormand, who is out for the blood of these lawbreakers. In an era when the stuffy corridors of power stifle anything approaching youthful exuberance, Dormand seizes the chance to score a political goal, and The Marine Broadcasting Offences Act is passed in an effort to outlaw the pirates and to remove their ghastly influence from the land once and for all. What results is a literal storm on the high seas. With Radio Rock in peril, its devoted fans rally together and stage an epic Dunkirk-style hundred-boat rescue to save their deejay heroes. Some things may come to an end, but rock and roll never dies.
