Well comrades, it's been a quiet weekend chez GaryandRo, but that did afford us the time to watch In The Loop, which the bastards at HMV had finally seen fit to deliver last week.
Worth the wait, you say? Immeasurably so. And let me count the ways. Peerless scripting combined with some outstanding performances combine to make it totally five-star. Based around a ministerial gaffe by the Minister for International Development, Simon Foster, the film perfectly demonstrates the tit-for-tat bullshit that makes up 95% of high-end politics..........but also leaves us in no doubt that said games have far-reaching and profound effects on us all.
Armando Ianucci recalled the cast of The Thick Of It for the film, but only two characters are the same.........Malcolm Tucker and Jamie MacDonald. Other cast members basically play the same role in all but name and job title; Chris Addison's character Toby, for instance, is identical to Ollie Reeder, his Thick Of It character. This could have backfired badly, but it just works.
All good then? Not quite. While Peter Capaldi plays Malcolm Tucker with his usual brilliance, the sweary set-pieces can seem a tad contrived.......while they work brilliantly in the 30 minute sitcom format, after an hour or so they can begin to grate somewhat. This means that Capaldi is outshined in this area by Paul Higgins' portrayal of Jamie MacDonald - used far more sparingly and to much better effect. Also one sub-plot, seemingly inserted just to give Steve Coogan a role, is over-acted and adds nothing of value.
It's laugh-out loud funny, but it's not all swears and snarls.....puffing on my post-film Marlboro, I found myself ruminating on how much in our political system is done behind closed doors and how little we really know of what goes on, when I expected to be picking my favourite Tucker rants. But maybe that's not a bad thing and full marks to Ianucci and his writers for that.
Worth the wait, you say? Immeasurably so. And let me count the ways. Peerless scripting combined with some outstanding performances combine to make it totally five-star. Based around a ministerial gaffe by the Minister for International Development, Simon Foster, the film perfectly demonstrates the tit-for-tat bullshit that makes up 95% of high-end politics..........but also leaves us in no doubt that said games have far-reaching and profound effects on us all.
Armando Ianucci recalled the cast of The Thick Of It for the film, but only two characters are the same.........Malcolm Tucker and Jamie MacDonald. Other cast members basically play the same role in all but name and job title; Chris Addison's character Toby, for instance, is identical to Ollie Reeder, his Thick Of It character. This could have backfired badly, but it just works.
All good then? Not quite. While Peter Capaldi plays Malcolm Tucker with his usual brilliance, the sweary set-pieces can seem a tad contrived.......while they work brilliantly in the 30 minute sitcom format, after an hour or so they can begin to grate somewhat. This means that Capaldi is outshined in this area by Paul Higgins' portrayal of Jamie MacDonald - used far more sparingly and to much better effect. Also one sub-plot, seemingly inserted just to give Steve Coogan a role, is over-acted and adds nothing of value.
It's laugh-out loud funny, but it's not all swears and snarls.....puffing on my post-film Marlboro, I found myself ruminating on how much in our political system is done behind closed doors and how little we really know of what goes on, when I expected to be picking my favourite Tucker rants. But maybe that's not a bad thing and full marks to Ianucci and his writers for that.
cindie:
and i found out what some political terms mean too 