ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

RICHARD CURTIS has a passion for pop music. In the 1960s, he was part of the generation who hid under the bed covers, enjoying the illicit thrill of listening to pirate radio stations that challenged the stuffy status quo and played music that made you want to scream and shout.

Curtis’ comic ensemble The Boat That Rocked is an affectionate valentine to the glory days of pirate radio. It is exceedingly likable but does sometimes feel like a fantastic soundtrack in search of a substantial story.

The Boat That Rocked is set on Radio Rock in the North Sea during the 1960s. It is Radio Caroline in everything but name. When innocent teenager Carl (Tom Sturridge) is expelled from school his mother Charlotte (Emma Thompson) sends him to Radio Rock and the tender mercies of its louche owner, Quentin (Bill Nighy).

It could be the chance he needs to sort out his life. It certainly will afford him an education as he becomes caught up in the lives of the rebel deejays, their rivalries, romantic conquests and love of rock music.

A string of amusing anecdotes, The Boat That Rocked brings together an amazing cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman as American rock purist The Count, Rhys Ifans as love God Gavin, Nick Frost as the randy Dave and Kenneth Branagh as the government official determined to stamp our pirate radio and its evil influence on the nation’s youth.

Branagh’s pantomime performance is a little hard to take, and whilst the film is always jolly it is guilty of underusing some of the many talents that it employs. There are so many anecdotes and incidents here that you could fill a television series rather than a single film.

The Boat That Rocked is fun, especially if you lived through the Swinging Sixties, but as the running time creeps up over the two hour mark it becomes evident that you can have too much of a good thing.

Nationwide release

Director: Richard Curtis
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Tom Sturridge, Kenneth Branagh, Chris O’Dowd.
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis
Certificate: 15
Running time: 135mins
Country: UK
Year: 2009

© Allan Hunter, 2009