A killer soundtrack searching for a film to match - 69%

Rating: 6/10 (22 August 2010)

I seem to recall that this was one movie that really divided the critics upon release. Not the critics themselves but their views - that this was a silly, puerile movie with a cracking soundtrack - didn't marry up with what most audience viewers experienced which was a rollicking comedy with songs to make you dance and performances that really delivered. Personally, I think they're both right. This is a film with little real plot and surprisingly little humour but one that you still enjoy immensely.
In the Sixties, young Carl (Tom Sturridge) is sent by his mother to his godfather Quentin (Bill Nighy, having the time of his life) on-board his pirate radio station moored in the North Sea. Sadly, Radio Rock is not exactly the best place to send an impressionable young man as it is the unruly home to the likes of American rock god The Count (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), sexy Lothario Gavin (Rhys Ifans), bespectacled Doctor Dave (Nick Frost) and the rest of the motley crew of rule-breakers and pop players. But as Carl realises the real reason behind his abandonment on-board, the British government is becoming increasingly concerned about their influence and task Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) and his unusually named assistant (Jack Davenport) with bringing pirate radio, and Radio Rock in particular, to their knees.
Richard Curtis films usually have a great soundtrack, something which isn't obvious in the likes of "Notting Hill" or "Love, Actually". But he has excelled himself here, providing an audio feast for your ears. Every scene has a groovy Sixties beat behind it and it rarely intrudes into what's happening in the scene, which is a good thing. Because, and this is going to sound harsh, there is very little else to keep you interested. The story, such as it is, is told in fits and starts and never really convinces anyway. Take Davenport's character, for example. By giving him a name that IMDb won't allow me to print here instantly reduces him to a one-dimensional baddie and the same goes for Branagh's amalgamation of every villainous politician you've ever seen in movies. Nothing surprises you about the film aside from the antics of the crew in one ridiculous scene to the next. By the time the ending rolls around, you're almost shaking your head in disbelief. It's a real shame because the other actors do a great job of impersonating certain other real-life pirate DJ's... I mean, breathing life into their characters. Ifans is brilliant as the reptilian dandy who keeps pushing the boundaries and Nighy is simply having fun.
It's difficult to be overly critical of a film I still enjoyed and I honestly did. Yes, it's daft and silly and the soundtrack is second to none. But I always felt it was a soundtrack in search of a film and sadly, "The Boat That Rocked" doesn't stand up well as a period comedy. The best scenes are when the various DJs are broadcasting in their own style but away from the mic, it felt slightly boring and flat. It's the Sixties through rose-tinted specs, with a knowing wink in the director's eyes. I wanted to like this more as did my Better Half but the pair of us were just slightly disappointed in the end. It's not exactly a shipwreck but it's hardly sea-worthy.