Richard Curtis’ second directing stint focuses on a boat broadcasting rock tunes by the Who, Jimmy Hendrix, Rolling Stones, and others from international waters far from reach of the 60’s British authorities, in “Radio Rock”. Back in the USA, this was the golden era for the flower child movement with The Beatles expanding their musical horizons. However in the land of royalties where progressive movements were banned and weird sounds and free impulses were corrupting, laws were enacted. Yet laws are meant to last as long as people accept them, when they do go against nature, their doomed to sink rock bottom. Writer-director Richard Curtis reveals a second hotbed of rock with his film.
With bans on broadcasting rock and roll from the mainland, a group of rock-crazed DJs settle to sail on a ship in the Northern Atlantic, far from British Jurisdiction, to send out the beats of rock. Following them is an immense crowd of fiercely devoted listeners who come in every age, form and shape.
The motley rock rebel crew is led by risk-prone, gutsy, foul-mouthed “The Count” (Philip Seymour Hoffman) with members boss of the Radio Rock, American Quentin (Bill Nighy), icon of British DJs Gavin (Rhys Ifans), the laconic Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom), ladies man and sex magnet Dave (Nick Frost), idiosyncratic New Zealander Angus (Rhys Darby), quiet, rarely seen Bob (Ralph Brown), Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke), lovelorn Simon (Chris O’Dowd), the ship’s lesbian cook Felicity (Katherine Parkinson), and young Carl (Tom Sturridge)hoping to get laid and figure out who his father is among the crew.
Taking on the bad guy role is Minister Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) with his faithful assistant Twatt (Jack Davenport), as they plot a way to sink the “Radio Rock” with a new law banning the operation.
Opening in both the U.K. and Australia under the title of “The Boat that Rocked”, the film had earned divided criticism. Most likely they would gain the same split reaction when released under the new title “Pirate Radio”.
The floating factor for this production was the music featuring tunes from The Beatles, The Stones, Beach Boys, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens and more. Audience would be taken back into the great hits of the 1960s as the film emanates nostalgia for the music that changed the times.
What I loved most was how we get a glimpse of the effects on people of the rock and roll invasion through endless reaction shots of the captivated public. Crowd ranged from pre-teens secretly tuning in way past their bedtime to be bombarded for the first time with the “F” word and ordinary adults, mostly women needing a musical pick-me-up.
However, the film failed miserably in the acting porting with reliable actors delivering one-note performances repeatedly. Among those who flunked out are Nighy who’s too mannered, Thompson who seem miscast or cared less about her lines, and Branagh embodying too much stiffness. The only characters who passed the charm factor are Tom Sturridge and Chris O’Dowd.
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