Film Review: Pirate Radio

“Rock and roll will live forever—but can it float?”

Writer/Director Richard Curtis’s hilarious romantic comedy is for music lovers. In 1966, the government-backed BBC broadcast barely two hours of rock and pop music every week over the U.K. radio airwaves and the only way 25 million people could hear Britain’s greatest music was to tune in to a boat operated by a group of rogue deejays that refused to be stopped.

One night in 1966, after being expelled from school, the teenaged Carl (Tom Sturridge) comes aboard, sent by his mother to visit his godfather/captain of the ship (Bill Nighy) and get an education in love and friendship he never could have dreamed of. The ensemble cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman as the risk-prone American DJ known as the Count, Rhys Ifans as Gavin the mystic deejay royalty, the aptly named Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke) and the slyly amorous Dave (Nick Frost) provide most of the laughs with their raunchy jokes, screw ball scenarios and M*A*S*H meets Animal House fraternity madness.

Beyond the rollicking antics on the boat, the film serves as an unapologetic worship of the sounds that rocked a nation and a decade. It was the music that started a revolution and demanded to be heard, told of dreams that needed to be realized and lives that needed to be lead. The film comes down hard on the side of those who were brave enough to broadcast it, making an all out mockery of the government minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) and his sniveling side kick aptly named Twat who try to shut the pioneering deejays down.

There is plenty of drinking, rowdiness, and numerous implied sexual situations, but the film remains sweetly innocent and infectiously fun--a devoted, unconditional love letter to an important musical era.

Featuring songs by The Beach Boys, Peter Townshend, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, The Who and many more. Not recommended for children. In theaters November 13th.