Film Addict's February Film Choice

Please not this is about the British cut of The Boat That Rocked, not the American.

I was gutted at the beginning of this month when I found out that Philip Seymour Hoffman had died of a drug overdose because I loved his work and I loved him as Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire so I decided to review a film that he was in this month as the Film Addict's February Choice.

The Boat That Rocked (also known as Pirate Radio in North America) is the 2009 British comedy film from Richard Curtis (About Time, Love Actually) starring Bill Nighy (a Curtis favourite who is also in About Time and Love Actually), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Capote), Nick Frost (Cornetto Trilogy with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, Paul) and Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, The Amazing Spider-Man) to name a handful of the actors.  Excluding Hoffman, all the other actors who portrayed the main characters were either British or Irish, making Hoffman stand out; while I was studying Media at school and university, one thing we discussed about British films was that they would tend to have an American actor amongst the top billing actors because they would make the film marketable to the American audience as well as the British.

Rating: 8

Recommended To: Richard Curtis lovers; 1960s music lovers

Favourite Characters: Simon - he was so adorable; the Count - got to love him

Favourite Part: Dr. Dave: Climb for America, sir.
[...]
If you fall, you will die.
[...]
Step away from the edge you silly bastards, this is madness.

Good Points: The tension between the Count and Gavin culminating in playing Chicken; great ensemble; the chemistry between each of the characters; the music; the inclusion of the station's listeners

Bad Points: Elenore - she was just a horrible character

The Boat That Rocks begins with a montage of people listening to their radios in secret as they listen to the pirate radio station, Radio Rock which specialises in playing rock and pop music that isn't played on BBC Radio at the time.  The Radio Rock boat broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the film shows the crew of Radio Rock as they go about their day to day life on the boat as they entertain their many fans and unintentionally piss off those in the government, in particular Sir Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh, Henry V) and his subordinate Domenic Twatt (Jack Davenport, Pirates of the Caribbean), because they consider the members of the Radio Rock boat as "[t]he drug-takers, law-breakers and bottom-bashing fornicators of our recently great country" and wants to make pirate radio obsolete.  The story aboard Radio Rock follows Carl (Tom Sturridge, On the Road) is later dubbed "Young" Carl by the others aboard when he is sent to live and work on Radio Rock by his mother for misbehaving at boarding school (or so she says).  Once aboard, he meets his godfather, Quentin (Nighy) who is the one in charge of the Radio Rock boat and is quite eccentric to what Carl is used to but is fairly normal on Radio Rock.  Quentin then introduces Carl to the rest of the crew, including American DJ the Count (Hoffman), DJ "Doctor" Dave (Frost), DJ "Simple" Simon Swafford (Chris O'Dowd, IT Crowd), "News" John Mayford (Will Adamsdale, Four Lions), Angus "The Nut" Nutsford (Rhys Darby, Yes Man), and "Midnight" Mark (Tom Wisdom, 300) who all have a show on Radio Rock at various points during the day.  Other members of the crew are "Thick" Kevin (Tom Brooke, Sherlock), Harold (Ike Hamilton), and Felicity (Katherine Parkinson, IT Crowd) who are support staff on-board of Radio Rock.  Carl bonds with the entire crew quickly and they accept him as one of their own as they continue to create pirate radio which in turn causes Dormandy to continue his efforts to shut them down by various means.  At one point, he and Twatt bring in a new law which makes it illegal for British companies to fund the pirate radio stations so to combat this, Quentin persuades Gavin Kavangh (Ifans) to return to Radio Rock which causes some tension to build between the Count and Gavin as they are both big personalities and clash frequently.  Despite all of the events on-board, the crew also have to ensure that their station survives the government's attack on all pirate radio stations.

My absolute favourite thing about The Boat That Rocked is the tension between the Count and Gavin when the latter arrives part way through the film as part of Quentin's efforts to draw more sponsors to fund Radio Rock so everyone won't have to return to shore to live a mundane life without music.  I loved how the tension went from just them competing on the air with one another where they may have made fun of each other in some way which isn't shown during the film but implied when the tension culminates in the Count and Gavin playing Chicken where they climbed up the mast of the Radio Rock boat under the pretence that the Count is standing up for Simon because Gavin slept with Simon's extremely new wife (they had been married 24 hours) though she did marry Simon under false pretences, using him so she can live on the boat.  My favourite part of this film is the Count and Gavin playing Chicken because the conversation between the two rivals and the random outbursts from other characters made me laugh and it was just a completely random scene but completely male as they drove each other on because neither one would admit that the game was stupid and/or dangerous and they didn't want the other to win.  However, the end result removes this tension because both the Count and Gavin admit they were wrong and put away their petty rivalry, meaning it becomes more harmonious on the boat.

I just loved the sheer number of random actors that made up the radio staff of Radio Rock, even the relatively unknown actors such as Tom Sturridge AKA "Young" Carl and Tom Brooke AKA "Thick" Kevin who are prominent characters in this film.  Though completely random, they fit well together as if they've genuinely worked together for years aboard Radio Rock because there are moments in the studio where the audience are shown the characters laughing or bickering with one another cut together in montages which are just sweet little moments which make the film work for me.

Continuing on from this being a great ensemble, I found that there was great chemistry between each of the characters to the point of there being a familial bond between each of them, whether it's father/son (between Carl and Quentin for example) or brotherly (Carl and Simon for another example).  The entire crew mesh together well as they seem to bounce off one another as they speak, almost like some of what they say is unscripted, natural which is what I want in a film, a cast that has a natural rapport with one another to the point where I can forget that it is actually a film and just focus on the story being told.

Music is one of those that can be really hit and miss in films set in a particular year because people can be extremely picky about when everything was released and it is understandable, stuff like that frustrates me occasionally, but all of the music for this film just screamed the 60s to me which I loved because it is all great pieces and became earworms (songs that just stick in your head and randomly plays even after it's stopped).  Maybe it's because they were part of the change that brought about the music I like now but I love The Who and The Beach Boys for example and adore the fact they are in this film so if you like 60s music then I think you would appreciate some of the eclectic selection this film has to offer.  One song I came to love from this film was Stay with Me from Lorraine Ellison because it was featured in a key sequence for one of my favourite characters, Simon, which I found amazing because even though the content was sad, it made me chuckle as I watched Simon mouth along to the words accurately; random scenes like that can make a film for me because they just stick in my head just as much as music does and I find myself laughing or even sobbing when I remember these random moments.

We, the public, are creatures of habit and if we listen to the radio, we may have a tendency to tune into a show we know we'll like such as Chris Evans (the presenter not the actor) on BBC Radio 2 for example because we like the way the presenter does the show and what I found brilliant was that the British public were shown in the film to be listening to particular moments live from Radio Rock.  Showing the listeners of this pirate radio station shows the filmmakers aren't just focusing on the lives of the DJs but the shows themselves are meant to connect with the audience, like we as an audience connect with the film, media isn't made for no reason, it is made for an audience to appreciate and having consistent shows on a radio station tends to attract an audience.  One example can be the young women listening to calm and romantic music, played by "Midnight" Mark, the "sexiest man on radio" who barely says anything except to whisper a few words in a husky tone which can be considered mysterious, sexy, and suave and the lovely young women are seen listening in a dream-like state (probably about Mark being there with them right then and there).  Other moments which can be considered as key moments in the Radio Rock's crew members' lives, such as Simon's wedding, there are glimpses of the public listening to the radio avidly which tells me they have become interested in the lives of these DJs and want to know what life is like on board.

I adored Simon; he was definitely my favourite character because he was just so sweet, loveable, and extremely happy/chirpy even though he may have been a little naïve which in turn, makes him even more endearing.  Part of it may have been because I love the actor, Chris O'Dowd who plays Simon and love pretty much everything he has been in including IT Crowd, where he played the sarcastic Irishman, Roy.  I really connected with Simon; he made me laugh and cry, especially when Elenore broke his heart by manipulating his naïve nature to get what she wants and while I liked the other characters, I connected with Simon more because I understood the way he was thinking, waiting for someone he thought he could spend the rest of his life with, even if I thought he was a bit naïve about everything.

Even though I adore the naïve "Simple" Simon, I also found a strong attachment to the "Count of Cool" as he calls himself played by Philip Seymour Hoffman because he was just so laid back yet not boring like "Midnight" Mark who practically did nothing apart from sleep with lots of women; he had a sense of humour and was accepting towards Carl, becoming one of the father figures to him on the boat.  As well as becoming a father figure to Carl, he becomes a good friend early on and inspiration to Carl by the end of the film as they approach the end of Radio Rock.  While it may not be one of his most well-known roles, I will always remember Hoffman as the Count and his speech to Carl will always play in my mind as I think about the amazing pieces of music I hear.

My main issue with this film was Elenore, Simon's bride who uses him to get onto the Radio Rock boat; I found her to be completely unlikeable and awful and even though her appearance caused the Count's and Gavin's tenuous relationship to come to a head, I ultimately thought she was a useless character and the storyline could have worked without her being present.  Maybe it was an excuse just to use the song Elenore by The Turtles in a particular scene which was clever in a way but completely unnecessary and the film may have been better without it.

Dr. Dave: Climb for America, sir.
[...]
If you fall, you will die.
[...]
Step away from the edge you silly bastards, this is madness.

Some of my favourite lines came from the scene when the Count and Gavin were playing Chicken because the Count challenged the latter on behalf of Simon and Dr. Dave is firstly encouraging the Count to win then trying to make sure that neither the Count nor Gavin will die.  These lines seemed to be off the cuff/unscripted/improvised for me because they are just completely random yet fit with the scene really well which I love; when I initially saw this scene, I found these particularly funny and has become my favourite scene from the entire film and the last line from this part I have chosen is my favourite line and always will be.

While for some The Boat That Rocked wasn't a very good film because the plot was a bit strung out and the film its self was long, two and a quarter hours, I absolutely adored it because it is how I would imagine that kind of boat to be like and I was a fly on the wall.  I loved the cast, I loved the music, and though parts seemed random, the major plot point was the government shutting Radio Rock down and while Radio Rock went about their normal lives and counter manoeuvring the government.

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