The Boat That Rocked

The Boat that Rocked

The Boat That Rocked, relabelled Pirate Radio for American audiences, has a certain rebel charm that I couldn’t quite pass up.  Based on a true story, the film follows eight disc jockeys and self proclaimed music lovers on their journey to bring outlawed music to the waiting masses of England.

The ensemble cast, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost and Rhys Darby, work well in complimenting each other’s comedy styles and journeys.  Some of the jokes are slightly tasteless and overused while others will have you gasping for air.  The underlying theme of rebellion is overlaid with other individual coming of age and self discovery journeys.  Bill Nighy in particular is amazing as the Captain of the motley DJ crew, leaving you wanting to be a part of the whole affair.

One place I found that The Boat That Rocked was lacking was in the developing of these storylines, a disadvantage of having such a large number of characters to work with.  It seemed that many of the individual aspects of the film were undeveloped, which, while not causing the film to flop, left me personally with a feeling that much more could have been accomplished.  That’s not to say director Richard Curtis didn’t try.  The film stretches over 2 hours, which is somewhat of a shame because had it been only half an hour shorter, it may have drawn a larger fan base.

However, I found that the real star of the film was the amazing soundtrack that saw some great 60s rock and pop tracks making an entrance.  I was personally blown away by this, not only by the choice of artists, which really embodied the feeling of the 60s, but also the tracks that made the film itself a much more enjoyable experience.

Regardless of some design flaws, The Boat That Rocked is ultimately a successful film with a unique plot and generally well executed script that will appeal to audiences of all ages, particularly fans of Brit-Pop.

4/5 stars