WKRP Did It Better

Rating: Null/10 (23 February 2017)

"That's the whole point of being the government - If you don't like something you make it illegal" Pirate station Radio Rock - staffed by a ragtag crew of hip misfits broadcasts Rock 'N" Roll from a decrepit ship in the North Sea. They resist government attempts to ban them. Along the way they make lasting friendships and have a great time.
Rock fans in the UK could only hear 45 minutes a day of popular music on the airwaves of licensed stations. It was not the staid Conservative Party in power at the time. A Labour government under Harold Wilson was into its second term. The progressive administration supposedly objected to pirate radio and Rock 'N" Roll. But there was never an attempt to ban Rock 'N" Roll as the narrative of this film continually implies the British government tried to do.
In fact the government was actually trying to ensure its own domestic broadcasting remained under its control. The disciplines of the free market were an anathema to Labour government socialism leaving its licensed BBC stations unresponsive to popular trends and market correction. Losing advertising dollars to pirate stations caused the government to intervene.
The popularity of Rock 'N" Roll on pirate radio led to it becoming the dominant format on licensed radio with disc jockeys from pirate stations being hired to ply their trade legitimately on public radio. There was not a crusade against Rock 'N" Roll. There was merely a market correction in UK broadcasting with minor, understated attempts at censorship.
The pirate radio station owners and jocks weren't the heroic freedom fighters as they are depicted in this film. These were a group who made a quick buck off of a market trend whilst not paying royalties to play music and accepting bribes from record companies to play certain songs at the exclusion of others without proper regard to quality of content.
There could be a very funny comedy made in telling this story. But that wasn't done here. This is not merely a bad movie. This is a bad movie that just won't quit. It leaves the viewer looking for an ending no matter how unsatisfying or baffling. This is the work of a director who evidently refused to allow it to be edited.