An Atomic Comedy

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2006)

*How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The SPOILERS* When a crazy general, appropriately named Jack D. Ripper, sends Plan R into action, a lot of Russian targets will be bombed, compelling the Russians to fight back, and they won't refrain from using a terrifying bomb called 'Doomsday Machine', which will destroy all life on Earth.
Everybody is on the run to stop the planes, but things begin to go very weird (the Russian Prime Minister being drunk as a skunk is just the start), and the General kills himself to avoid revealing the code which could solve things to English Colonel Lionel Mandrake.
Not only that, but the only functioning phone on base is a payphone and he doesn't have coins! In the meanwhile, a mysterious character appears: Dr. Strangelove, an invalid strategist who has one mechanical arm which makes the Hitler salute at random, revealing his Nazi origins.
What is his part in all of this? And as one plane keeps on flying to his target, things look bleak...
From that resumè of the plot it sounds like a thriller, but it's actually a comedy.
Dark (*very* dark), but funny nonetheless.
Peter Sellers is really funny in his three roles (Mandrake/US President Muffley/Dr. Strangelove) and the rest of the cast is also great; watch out for Slim Pickens riding an atomic bomb, or for James Earl Jones in general, as this was his first film.
The most intelligent part of the script is that there are just a few blatant gags; what makes this film really funny is the overall sense of absurdity of the situation, and the over seriousness of some characters ('Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!').
And last but not least, Kubrick's direction is top-notch as usual, with an ironic edge and memorable camera movements.
Great use of music too, with 'We'll Meet Again' playing over the 'explosive' ending.
Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb): 9/10