The Boat That Rocked

(2009)

Dir: Richard Curtis

If anything, The Boat That Rocked will do some good business for iTunes.

With such a fantastic, foot-tapping soundtrack, it’s unsurprising that the film becomes almost like one huge 60s throwback music video with the plot and other pesky cinematic contrivances going into the North Sea. Director Richard Curtis tells the tale of 1960s Pirate Radio and, in particular, “Radio Rock”, a motley crew of dedicated disc jockeys broadcasting real music to the masses from, you guessed it, a boat in the North Sea. The uptight British government though, has other ideas.

There are aspects of The Boat That Rocked which work. It is a very, very warm and upbeat film. A ‘feel good’ film, you might say. There is plenty of chemistry between the leads on the rocking vessel, drawing you in like part of the gang. Where the film falls down is in the frankly pointless additions of the various plotlines revolving around Tom Sturridge’s Carl. As the young protagonist, Carl is our way onto the ship. And that should be enough. His wide-eyed approach to all the titillation and tomfoolery is all we need. So why Curtis felt the need to throw in a romantic sub-plot and paternal quest is beyond me. It probably isn’t helped by Sturridge’s wooden performance.

But despite all the sexual shenanigans on the bouncing boat, it’s Kenneth Branagh and Jack Davenport who provide the real humour, as the pompous and prudish representatives of Her Majesty’s Government, as they hatch increasingly desperate plots to sink Radio Rock … quite literally.

Being myself fairly young, I don’t know how accurate the plot is, though I suspect not very. But I don’t think it matters. With its outlandish and heart-warming approach, The Boat That Rocked works as a kind of wishful fantasy of the rock ‘n’ roll phenomenon.

Well, off to iTunes then…

*** / *****

“Groovy, baby.”