The Boat That Rocked
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost
Dir: Richard Curtis
Rating: 3.5/5
Richard Curtis is back with his latest offering of The Boat That Rocked, and it's nice to see that there is no Hugh Grant in tow, as there so often is with his movies.
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.
The characters in The Boat That Rocked are as large as life and that's what drives this movie forward and makes it so much fun.
It's a blast of sixties nostalgia that follows a group of DJ's who have banded together on a boat in the North Sea to bring the music that they love to the masses.
It reflects an age that embraced the music as an everyday way of life and it's accompanied by an outstanding soundtrack, you may just have to run out and buy it.
The talented cast blend together the jokes and gags as well as reflect the mood of a generation standing up for what they believe in to defy a government.
But this film is also a great coming of age film for Carl as he discovers girls, sex and his father as well as standing by his new friends in their hour of need.
The Boat That Rocked is just a light-hearted comedy that is to be enjoyed from it's colourful characters to it's great soundtrack. So sit back and enjoy.
The Boat That Rocked is out on DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Philip Seymour Hoffman