Pirate Radio

The 60's, in my humble opinion, was the golden age of rock music, and I firmly believe that this era will never be topped in that regard. The best of it came from the British Isles, so it's quite ironic that the nation's official broadcasting outlet, the BBC, refused to play it. Numerous offshore "pirate" radio stations were created to fill this cavernous void, which were viewed as a subversive annoyance by the British government. The "Radio Rock" of Pirate Radio is made up of a collection of characters straight out of "60's" central casting, including Philip Seymour Hoffman as the ship's star DJ. This is not a "star" vehicle for Mr. Hoffman, as the film is definitely an ensemble piece, and everyone involved helps make this quite an excellent and enjoyable film. Relative newcomer Tom Sturridge plays Carl, who's shipped off to the boat by his mother in order to get his life back on track after being expelled from school. Considering all the drugs, sex and debauchery going on this must be one hip mom (Emma Thompson in a cameo). Her ex-husband Kenneth Branagh, plays the government minister in charge of closing the stations down, and he's so evil and anti-fun you can almost see him twirling his moustache as he hatches his plans. His top aide is named Mr. Twatt, and yes, it's a cheap joke, and quite a good one. January Jones also has a small role as the wife and girlfriend of two different DJs. Her brief storyline was actually quite pointless and annoying, but not enough to bring down a fine film. Also, one minor script criticism: the phrase "think outside the box" was used, clearly about 30 years a head of its time, and it briefly took me "out" of the film. This should have been caught. In spite of these two minor points I think that this is one fine film, with of course, a superior soundtrack. It also has the best opening and closing credits I've seen in quite a while and I have no doubt that a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Rating - 3 1/2 Stars