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The Boat That Rocked (2009)

Director: Richard Curtis

Time Out rating

Average user rating

334 reviews

Synopsis

Richard Curtis tells the tale of 1960s pirate station Radio Caroline. Bill Nighy stars. Hugh Grant doesn't.

Movie review

From Time Out London

‘The Ship That Sank’ would be a more appropriate title for writer-director Richard Curtis’s latest and most disappointing entertainment. It’s a cripplingly self-conscious and self-satisfied tribute to the roistering last days of offshore British mid-’60s pirate radio before the meanies from the ministry pulled the plugs.

It’s also the kind of musical comedy where the actors seem to be having more fun than any audience could ever share. This overlong, poorly paced and slackly directed ship-bound farrago not only wastes its treasury of golden oldies – Hendrix, Kinks, Small Faces etc – but magically contrives to reduce the chaotic, creative spirit of the sexual and cultural revolution to a mere mechanical catalogue of trite and surprisingly sentimental sex-drugs-and-rock ’n’ roll clichés, each fatally underlined by multiple and repetitive reaction shots.

If there are compensations, they come courtesy of a few diverting performances. The movie’s depressingly few incidences of genuine feeling come from Tom Sturridge who is sweet and appealing as the public schoolboy taken under the wing of his godfather, ship’s captain and Radio Rock boss Quentin, played by Bill Nighy as a self-parody in made-to-measure Regency-collared suits. Philip Seymour Hoffman does a turn as the radical, Emperor Rosko-like DJ in rivalry with Rhys Ifans’s self-serving immoralist Gavin.

Elsewhere, pickings are slim: the talented Ralph Brown is wasted – he’s cast as Wee Small Hours Bob, a misjudged amalgam, presumably, of ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris and dysarthric Danny from ‘Withnail & I’ – and the same is doubly true of such comic talents as Chris O’Dowd, Rhys Darby and Nick Frost.

Author: Wally Hammond

Time Out London Issue 2015, Apr 2-8 2009

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User reviews of this film

Lorimergodlike said...

Posted on Dec 18 2011 00:25 Atrocious. So, so poor. Good actors, woeful script. Achieves a lameness which is quite remarkable given the story to be told, the music, and the acting talent at hand.

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prynne said...

Posted on Jan 10 2011 01:21 uttterly lame humour, an embarrassment to all concerned and agony for the viewer...

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Kit said...

Posted on Oct 03 2010 00:07 This execrable film should she consigned to the bargain bin at HMV. Quite the worst thing I've seen in years.

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Rufus Duffin said...

Posted on Jul 18 2010 16:07 I love seeing films where the reviews are either 0* or 5* with barely anything between! I completely disagree with the poor review from TimeOut - were we even watching the same film?
Personally, I adored this film and thought that the DVD offering of an additional three-quarters of an hours of material in the form of deleted scenes was a superb treat. I would ideally have liked to have seen this material in the final film but sadly the MTV generation (to which I belong) seem to barely make it through an episode of The Simpsons without loosing their concentration. I see nothing wrong with a three-hour film if that's what is needed to convey the director's vision and I find it quite disgusting that there is so much pressure for films to be trimmed just for the sake of reaching the magic one hour thirty minutes.
As far as the film itself goes - flawless. Stunning cast, including many actors I didn't know such as the brilliant Ike Hamilton. Lovely cinematography. Brilliant sound track and a great story. If you're looking for a film made great by acting and direction, this is one for you. If not, perhaps Vin Diesel has a new film coming out soon that might be more up your street.
A film I never get tired of watching. Buy it.

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Annie said...

Posted on May 04 2010 22:24 I cannot disagree more, I think this is one of the best films I have seen. I think it was brilliantly casted and the actors appeared to thoroughly enjoy mking the film which is conveyed in their preformances. The film has a great soundtrack and 100% feel good factor, bursting with loads of good light-hearted comedy. Furthermore, not only is a lot of fun but also includes history about pirate radio stations during the 60s which i found quite intresting. Overall, I think it is a brilliant film and definatly one of my favorites.

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Andy Richards said...

Posted on Apr 05 2010 23:01 Obviously no Pirate radio fans here then.
OK,it's a "Light hearted" film,but it gets the mood and feeling of pirate Radio across.
Don't any of you have a heart or any passion?
Rebels!My arse!!
Bunch of wimps!!
Andy Richards.

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Chris said...

Posted on Dec 29 2009 12:33 I hear both sides of these opinions.
It was funny and I did laugh quite a few times, but I couldn't help being disappointed with the film's overall weakness.
Having heard about it, I was ready for a quality film about a true and genuinely feelgood story, or a dramatization about Radio Caroline. (By the way I am 26 so have no memory of the original station!)
I did enjoy the cutaway shots of the listeners - they gave me a rest from the un-story, and provided perhaps the only believable parts of the film!
Tunes were quality yes, but in a film like this, that is surely to be expected?
There were so many pointless parts to the story, like the
squirm-worthy, poorly acted kid, and the government bloke called Tw@t, which could only go to decrease the film's credibility.
And the ship sinking from some unknown, unexplained entity? Please.
To conclude: even taking escapism into account, it was a disappointing take on a film that could have been truly great. Like a man with a limp handshake, you've got to do a lot to make up for this Mr Curtis.
As someone else said, roll on the remake!

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Theresa said...

Posted on Dec 26 2009 13:08 Absolutely loved it. Ok, so it wasn't particularly deep or innovative, but can't films sometimes just be stylish and fun? I was hugely entertained, and also went off and did a load of research on pirate radio. Very surprised by the difference in comments here and elsewhere.

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Shaun said...

Posted on Sep 25 2009 20:16 Worse than watching Sheffield United at wembley. I'd rather spend an evening locked up with fred west than endure this utter dross ever again. The actors must be embarassed about the end result. Complete rubbish.

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Colleen said...

Posted on Sep 25 2009 20:08 The worst film I ever endured in a cinema. I was sat cringing throughout. The characters have no character and I was waiting for the sinking with hope that would be the end but no - it just gets worse - sinking deeper into a pathetic plot which it seems the director does not know how to end. Absolutely zero star for me.

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Douglas said...

Posted on Sep 24 2009 18:49 Hands down most awesome movie of the year if not the decade!!

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simon Gardener said...

Posted on Sep 03 2009 00:39 delightfully funny and endearing movie.

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Terry said...

Posted on Jul 12 2009 00:10 The amazon.co.uk listing of this film's DVD is remarkable. Almost entirely positive remarks. Why the contrast with this site? Are their PR firm starting to flog the DVD already in a vain effort to claw back some of the money wasted on this lamentable film?

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rubbisher said...

Posted on Jul 11 2009 20:37 A very perceptive piece of film criticism, turks. Well done. I'm sure you could do better if you tried.The

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turks said...

Posted on Jul 11 2009 01:27 shut the hell up, you rubbisher. go and stink somewhere else.

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