This Underrated Richard Curtis Comedy Is One of His Best – And It’s Not a Rom-Com

The big picture

• Radio Pirate
  is a 2009 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Curtis.
• The film, set in the 1960s, follows a group of DJs who broadcast from a pirate radio station off the coast of Great Britain. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans, among others.
• The film is a love letter to 60s rock music and the culture surrounding it.

This is miraculous Radio Pirate a hidden gem has remained, like a lost shipwreck full of gold at the bottom of the sea. This is a must-have British coming-of-age comedy with almost every established British actor in it including Bill Nighy, Chris O'Dowd, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Rhys Ifans, Jack Davenporta young man Tom Sturridge, and none other than Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's a celebration of male friendship and cleverly subverts toxic masculinity by calling it out, mocking it, and ultimately rejecting it. Directed and written by Richard Curtisis a massive departure from his many blockbuster romantic comedy classics, including true love i About the weather.

The screenwriter of Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary, i Four weddings and a funeralis an expert at blossoming romances between men and women while finding the hilarity in love, which makes that Radio Pirate such a delightful anomaly. It's still kind of a romantic movie, but instead it's a love letter to 60s rock and all the hilarious debacles that fellow men get themselves into thanks to music, girls and drugs. Published with the title The boat that rocked abroad and Radio Pirate in the U.S., it's a light-hearted reunion movie with plenty of debauchery and jokes, but unfortunately underperformed at the box office despite praise for its subject matter and performances. Curtis celebrated the rock revolution and also explored the fascinating true story behind pirate radio stations during the British Invasion boom in rock and roll.

'Pirate Radio' is based on a true story of rock 'n roll rebellion

During the boom of the British Invasion in the mid-60s, bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stonesi The WHO, just to name a few, took over rock and roll and dominated the charts. During this time, the British government refused to play rock music, considering it immoral, and played it less than 1 hour a day on the radio..This led to the rise of Pirate Radio, in which The DJs took to the North Sea off the coast of Great Britain and hit the night waves to rock and roll all night long. 25 million Britons, the equivalent of half the population, tuned in every night to listen. Radio Pirate follows a fictional team of 8 DJs who run the radio station, “Rock Radio”, inspired by the many pirate radio stations and DJs of the 1960s.

Hoffman plays the famous American DJ, 'The Count', who is the star of Radio Rock, and starts it every night. He sticks out like a sore thumb among Brits in the best possible way, talking at lightning speed and infusing profanity, swearing and personal musings into every set. When lonely 18-year-old Carl (Tom Sturridge) is sent aboard by his mother to be cared for by his station-managing godfather, Quentin (an always fantastic Bill Nighy), he is introduced to a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. As Carl entrenches himself in the world of radio, the British government looks for ways to shut down Rock Radio, run by a member of parliament played by Kenneth Branagh. The ship refuses to stop playing music and goes into all-out war with the British government. As Nighy's character Quentin says, “Governments hate people being free,” and they decide they'll never fly the white flag.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a famous and lively American DJ in 'Pirate Radio'

The Count is a fictional DJ from the 1960s, but thanks to Hoffman's performance, it feels vibrant and real. He begins the entire film with a countdown himself, as he counts his listeners for the night. Hoffman masters Curtis' difficult mile-a-minute dialogue expertly, making a meal of rapid-fire monologues about the powers of rock and roll. At the time of release, Hoffman was no stranger to the rock world, having previously played real-life rock journalist Lester Bangs in the acclaimed film. Cameron Crowe movie, Almost Famous. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, delivering famous rock and roll dialogue, including his beloved “not cool” speech to the film's young protagonist, William.

In Radio Pirate, Hoffman is once again shaping the young minds of the next generation. Although his performance is mostly loud and in your face with screaming matches, memorably dropping the air bomb to further anger parliament, his quiet moments of reflection with Carl before potentially being locked up find him in classic Hoffman form, dropping wisdom to the young as he was born to do. He says to Carl quietly, “”These are the best days of our lives. It's a terrible thing, but I know.” As they continue through what may be their final hour or rock, Hoffman is the perfect vessel for Curtis' passionate, rock-and-roll-loving dialogue, declaring, “The men and the women young people will always dream dreams and put those dreams into songs.”

'Pirate Radio' still hits all the right romantic notes with Tom Sturridge

For a film full of searing guitars and electric drums you can feel in your guts, the most romantic moment comes on a quiet listen. Of course, there is heartbreak, which includes a tearful scene, with Curtis' special gift for portraying unrequited love. Carl listens to the sad ballad masterpiece, “So Long, Marianne,” by Leonard Cohenwhile two other DJ's, Harold (Like Hamilton) and John (Adamsdale), come to comfort him with milk and cookies. Sex-obsessed DJ Dave (Nick Frost) has taken up with the girl Carl liked, breaking his inexperienced heart. As Harold and John sit quietly by his side, dipping cookies in milk while he fights back tears amid the music, they all leave themselves vulnerable in an unexpected, emotional, quiet moment in a loud, noisy movie.

The scene has no dialogue as “So Long, Marianne” plays around them, enveloping them like a comforting blanket. It's such a disarming moment because of how often men are depicted dealing with sadness in filmmaking. It's often an opportunity for tantrums, to break down walls (Hello Adam Driver in Marriage history), and curse people. Here, this boy, who is not yet a man, feasts on milk and cookies, and Harold and John encourage him to be vulnerable, and embrace his vulnerability. while Radio Pirate sometimes it walks the tightrope of being another boys club movie that feels like a fantasy straight out of a man's brain, its moments like this that lift it a notch above the remaining.

Philip Seymoure Hoffman and Rhys Ifans have a hilarious feud as dueling DJs

The film's funniest moments belong to Hoffman and Ifans, battling it out to be the most popular, coveted, and beloved DJ on board the ship. Ifans is dressed to the nines in neon purple coats and feathered hats, who oozes shame and sex like a cartoonish 1960s British playboy. Where he uses sex appeal and mystique to draw listeners in, The Count uses an unabashed passion for rock and abrasive humor.

Ifans is hilarious as the suave and hilariously slimy Gavin, and his best scene comes after he makes out with another man's girl, and the earl decides he's the one to get revenge. The two climb to the top of the boat by the narrow ladder, play a game of chicken, and then jump overboard. It's the film's shining moment to show just how idiotic men can be when they live together and the childish qualities they bring out in each other. It also has some of Curtis' best dialogue, carrying his signature wit, as The Count wonders “Why am I so fat?”, as he planks on the water, terrified. Ifans yells chicken at The Count, declaring “Goodbye Amigo!” and without fear he jumps into the water, with the count following his example. The two actors devour mocking toxic masculinity as the next scene finds them with broken fingers and toes, like their bruised egos.

Richard Curtis made the movie Ultimate Boys Hang Out and Ode to 60s Rock

Radio Pirate has an exceptionally eclectic and prolific soundtrack. The music becomes a character in itself, and adapts to whatever mood his characters are in, becoming another layer of how they feel. Most scenes find the men smoking cigarettes, talking about sexual escapades, sitting in the DJ booth, or simply listening to music. When a teenage Carl tries to find a girl's skirt, or any of the horny DJs try to seduce the rare sight of women on board, it might be tempting to roll your eyes, but the film unashamedly enters the mind of 'a cornea. teenager, and shouts the phrase “boys will be boys”. A cautionary tale for growing up, Carl witnesses magnificent debauchery, which makes him wish he wasn't like the sex-obsessed demons on board.

It would be a crime to exclude mention of all the ragtag DJs who have fun quirks on board, such as Tom Wisdom like Mark, a silent DJ who considers himself the sexiest man alive and only says words like “wow” or “now” while on air. A young Chris O'Dowd plays a naïve and heartbreaking DJ who is tricked into a marriage with a cruel woman played by January Jonesand her sad puppy eyes will break your heart. Radio Pirate it's a celebration of the underdog, like many Curtis films who find love and happiness in the most unlikely places. Never taking itself too seriously and turning into a fantastical throwback film that romanticizes the 60s and the wild escapades it became known for, Radio Pirate it was inexplicably aplomb, perhaps because it strayed further from what Curtis used to direct and write. But it takes the essence of Curtis to the core, with lovable outcasts and hopeless rock 'n' roll romantics who stay true to their quirky selves and are willing to die to keep rock 'n' roll alive.

Radio Pirate is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the US

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