It tried, but I didn't get no satisfaction.

Rating: 2/10 (28 April 2009)

In the heart of '60's swinging England there was Pirate Radio, while not a new idea altogether, in this fresh, vibrant decade which catered for the youth market and together, with the pop culture, pop art and Rock n' Roll, there simply had to be an outlet for its audiences' music. There was simply nothing else providing the youth market, via the concept of Medium Wave, the sounds that this upwardly mobile youth culture begged.
Of course, there were the likes of televisions Top of The Pops (1964 - 2006, BBC owned) and Ready Steady Go! (1963 - 1966), but the radio market had yet to be conquered by big business. This first came in the shape and form of Pirate Radio. We still see today the new age of Pirate Radio, which is land based and more urban and underground, this still has not stopped the authorities' trying their best to extinguish the flame of "free radio" in the name of, well, themselves. You see, one major problem that "free radio" proposes is that it "steals" airwave space and this costs, in form of lost revenue.
Today, we have the British film The Boat That Rocked, the fictitious account of a group of Disc Jockeys', playing 24-hour music off the shores of England. In addition, we have the British Government that tries to thwart their free radio spirit, by simply basing their argument, after extensive research, by the aptly named Government Official Twatt, that a small fishing boats crew "nearly drowned" because Radio Rock's signal had, unintentionally, interfered with the fishing crews signal for help.
What director, writer and producer Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994, The Black Adder and Mr. Bean, T. V. comedy series) has done here is given us a film that seems to have been pulled from a magician's hat. What we should be seeing is the white rabbit; sadly, we have a white elephant out of the hat, this feels more contrived and rigid, the cast be may be ensemble like, no egos here, but it is the poor assembly of an even poorer execution of script and depth. In equal measure, cast and crew have manned the lifeboats and set sail to a land of few-and-far-between gags, wit, and imagination.
With this cast, excluding Kenneth Branagh who shines, and out shines, as the ultra stiff Minister Dormandy, so much more could have be achieved for and by Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans and Philip Seymour Hoffman. While doing what they do best for Queen and Country, it all feels rather too clichéd, too animated and, again, very contrived. This is ever so obvious in the character Quentin, played by Bill Nighy, who "was" this character meant to be, was he "supposed" to this rigid or was this simply Mr. Nighy trying his best to be bad? This is more than just stereotyping for its own sake, this is underdeveloped characters who have less personalities that the vinyl that is been played on their turntables. In all, this is stretched out television comedy, and all that is missing, like Richard Curtis's "Mr. Bean", is the canned laughter.
With a running time of some two hours, there must have been some scope for direction and instead we have an armada of a sinking script and personality, which concentrates on a shallow epicentre of nothing more than a tiny group of hedonistic middle-aged men yarning for the jailbait that worships their every whim.
The Boat That Rocked does, on the other side of the disc, portray a healthy and positive message of rebellion, comradeship and vitality of life. A charming scene here is when one of the young men finds his heart broken and the "tea and biscuits" offered by two of his friends is done magnificently and is pure magic and the rallying behind the newly married member whose heart is, too, broken is commendable and it's all proof-positive and fun.
While having an interesting soundtrack; The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Moody Blues, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and others, to keep the mood perpetual, it all seems wasted when backed up by this stereotyping. Playing the music for the music's sake, keeping it alive for a generation frustrated by the lack of play other than the ships weighing anchor off shore. They love their life, they love their friends and they love Rock n' Roll. Mr. Curtis has given these guys direction, direction in their goals, but, sadly, Mr. Curtis has lost them in a thinly veiled adaptation of television sitcom, in the nautical sense, doldrums.