“Pirate Radio,” a series of loosely connected stories, is about a rebellious group of deejays whose love of rock-n-roll cause them to defy the British government in the late 1960’s. And the highlight of this movie is the music. Radio Rock, owned by Quentin (Bill Nighy), features popular disc jockeys, including an American known as The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), well-known Gavin (Rhys Ifans); Bob (Ralph Brown), the 3-6 am guy people rarely see, and Simon (Chris O’Dowd), whose convinced no one likes him. After being kicked out of school, young Carl (Tom Sturridge) joins the group when his mother (Emma Thompson) sends him to spend some time with Quentin, his godfather. Carl quickly discovers that life aboard Radio Rock is sex, drugs and rock-n-roll although director Richard Curtis downplays much of the sex and a lot of the drug use. Meanwhile, cabinet member Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) is determined to shut down Radio Rock.
Because some of the vignettes don’t work, “Pirate Radio” is uneven in tone. And although the characters are mostly likable, you don’t really get to know them. The best comedic moments come from Branagh’s stuffed shirt politician and the ‘duel’ between The Count and Gavin. Ultimately, “Pirate Radio” is more about the music than anything else. There are numerous clips (from a few bars to whole songs) in the movie, making it a fairly comprehensive survey of late 60s-early 70s music, including songs by The Who, The Beach Boys, The Turtles, The Kinks, The Moody Blues, Procol Harem, The Supremes, David Bowie, Herb Alpert, and Cat Stevens, to name a few. (Gotta get the soundtrack.) “Pirate Radio” is entertaining and if it has a downside, it’s that the music outshines the narrative. 11/13/09
1 comment:
When we see Philip Seymour Hoffman in a new movie we start thinking about Oscar performances. He is so "good" we expect a lot from him and he is deserving. In this film PSH does not have a role that can qualify him for any awards but he is still "good". This is a lightweight movie about the history of Rock and Roll in Britain and about censorship. If the Government (certain individuals) doesn't like something they legislate and make it illegal. This movie is about a turning point that took place in our life time that now seems silly. At the time, however, it was quite serious.
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