For Reel

Director: Richard Curtis

After a delayed North American release and a title change, “Pirate Radio” (known in the UK as “The Boat that Rocked”) finally makes it’s way to an American audience. The film, although boasting a prestigious cast and director, isn’t so much awards bait as it is a welcome distraction from the gloom that awaits us in the form of the big Oscar pictures like “The Road” or “Precious”.

The film begins in 1966, a time where rock-and-roll was largely banned on British airwaves. With the movement taking enormous steam, however, a loophole was found by broadcasting offshore. These DJ’s, serving essentially as pirates, were a welcome distraction from the typical dreary news broadcasts that inhabited BBC.

Each DJ becomes a sort of cult icon. The most well known of the men is named The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an American willing to, quite literally, die for music. The closest thing we have to a protagonist, a young virgin named Carl (Tom Sturridge), is welcomed and soon embraced by his new companions.

“Pirate Radio” plays like a television series more than anything else. It’s vignettes are loosely connected, dealing with a specific relationship for ten minutes or so at a time before abandoning it. The film has a tendency to feel sloppy for that reason, but it also makes it fairly easy to digest – it’s as if you’re watching a group of shorts.

Perhaps the biggest standout in the cast is Kenneth Branagh, who wisely overplays a prim-and-proper 60’s conservative. There aren’t a lot of people in the world who can get consistent laughs by calling somebody “Twatt”. Nick Frost, from the Edgar Wright movies, is also startlingly good – while Simon Pegg’s career as a lead isn’t exactly flourishing, Frost may be well on the right track.

Although it may be far from Curtis’ previous efforts, “Pirate Radio” succeeds on it’s charisma alone. It’s performances are so lively, so likable. Quite simply, the film works because you enjoy spending time with these people.