Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Plot synopsis:
Norwich radio station North Norfolk Digital is bought out by a multinational conglomerate, with staff members facing redundancies. DJ Alan Partridge is not concerned, but fellow DJ Pat Farrell convinces him to gatecrash a board meeting to persuade the new owners not to fire Pat. When Alan discovers that either he or Pat must go, he urges them to fire Pat, and writes "JUST SACK PAT" on the room's flip chart.
During a company party, Pat enters the station with a shotgun and holds the staff hostage, demanding his job back. The police enlist Alan as a negotiator, and he builds an uneasy rapport with Pat; with Alan's co-presenter Sidekick Simon, the three host a radio show during the siege. Alan daydreams of ending the siege heroically, but cannot bring himself to grab Pat's gun. As the siege becomes national news, Alan's assistant Lynn is persuaded to ditch her frumpy style for a TV interview, Alan's ego swells because of his pivotal role, and he shares a kiss with his colleague Angela.
Alan accidentally locks himself out of the building and loses his trousers trying to get back in through a window. The police realise he is an ineffective negotiator and send in an undercover officer disguised as a pizza delivery man. Alan interrupts and takes the pizzas in himself. When Pat discovers a taser in one of the boxes, an argument erupts between the hostages and the police burst in. Pat escapes in the station's tour bus, taking Alan and security guard Michael.
On the bus, Alan regains Pat's trust and they continue to host the radio show. However, Pat sees Alan's "JUST SACK PAT" message in a photo and deduces that Alan was behind his redundancy. Alan hides in the bus toilet compartment and escapes in the septic tank.
On Cromer Pier, Pat faces off with Alan and the police. Michael tries to distract Pat by throwing himself off the pier; he is never seen again. Pat tells Alan that he is depressed due to the death of his wife and prepares to shoot himself. Unable to pull the trigger, he gives his shotgun to Alan, who throws it aside. The gun goes off, shooting Alan in the leg; he is then shot again by a police sniper reacting to gunfire. Lynn arrives and thinks Alan is dead, but a paramedic assures him that he will be fine.
Alan returns to North Norfolk Digital with Sidekick Simon and Pat calls the show from jail. Alan goes on holiday with Angela and her sons.

Tags: revenge, comedy, satire, suicidal

Review:
The film contains all the best characters from the TV Series and Steve Coogan's brilliance as Alan just made the film so funny.
Everyone in the cinema was laughing out loud throughout the full 90 minutes.There is also a great sound track and lots of familiar tunes and the scene during the credits will have you laughing throughout.Excellent film go and see it even if you are not a Alan Partridge/Steve Coogan fan because it is a generally funny film..
So, overall it's pretty funny but like all cinematic versions of British TV series, a little frustrating overall; although in fairness, it's one of the better attempts but probably only due to the genius of the Partridge character..
When I first discovered the premise of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, which is a siege of the North Norfolk Digital building by a disgruntled former employee, I was concerned that, like many big screen adaptations, Alan Partridge was departing from its humble, unspectacular roots.By half way into the film, my concerns had unfortunately been confirmed.
Cinema was packed at the 21:30 showing (full of men with a few women that had been dragged along - i bet they actually loved it really) and everyone was laughing out loud and tittering every couple of minutes.The plot worked - initially i thought it wouldn't be able to maintain itself for the films length but it was like an awesomely long episode of Alan.
In the series, i always thought the supporting cast were quite funny, especially Michael, but in this adaption, Alan was the only one getting laughs.But, this film is definitely a solid 8 for me.
It's almost constant; one liners, funny voices,crazy faces, witty remarks, smart references.It is an enjoyable story which shows how something as simple as a dj's grievance over losing his job can create a barrage of laughs.Yes, it isn't Coogan's best work, but was good to see Alan Partridge in a motion picture.
So, unlike many viewers, this is my first time and I cannot compare the movie with the show.The film begins with some corporate folks coming to the radio station where Alan (Coogan) works.
In fact, as the film progresses, you really see that this is Partridge's #1 goal.This movie is a very funny and EXTREMELY dark comedy.
There is a long and far from noble history of British television comedy shows 'spinning-off' into cinema release feature films.It was an extremely popular exercise in the early to mid 1970s when On the Buses, Till Death Us Do Part, Are You Being Served?, Bless This House and a host of other popular television shows were given the big screen treatment.Invariably, the transitions were pretty cringe worthy.
The result was an over-extended but far from execrable film which proved commercially successful and paved the way for more to follow.It is on this background that Steve Coogan has resurrected his egregious creation, the broadcaster Alan Partridge.Originally a character created on BBC radio, Alan Partridge came to greater public attention in the ground-breaking 1994 television comedy series, The Day Today.
When Steve Coogan took an unnecessary swipe at the David Brent character in the media, it was difficult not to be drawn to the conclusion that there was professional jealousy at its root.Twenty years on, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, finds him working for North Norfolk Digital Radio.
But if you want to see him at his best, I suggest you get the box sets of The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a pale shadow of these classic comedies..
Reviews of Alpha Papa by long-time Partridge fans seem to be fairly mixed, which is surprising to me as I think it easily ranks alongside some of his best stuff since he first appeared back in The Day Today.
There have been a couple of misfires along the way (the documentary Welcome To The Places Of My Life being probably the 'worst' Partridge thing ever in my opinion, and I also thought the book tried a bit too hard to be funny) but Alpha Papa is more or less a joy from start to finish.
This was very surprising as Steve Coogan/Alan Partridge has done such a fantastic job down the years of limiting his output & thus placing any new stuff at a huge premium for avid fans like myself.
Every component working at maximum efficiency, with very few bumps along the way that the British precision engineering couldn't withstand and steer back on track.With Alan at the steering wheel, hands clad in functional leather driving gloves and sporting the attire of a top gear presenter circa 5-10 years ago, he is in control of his vehicle (like said top gear presenter) and delivers almost all of the movies best lines, which are all very quotable additions to the ever growing compendium of partridge-isms.
Anyway, you have to be a fan of the series to enjoy the film.Round-Up: Steve Coogan has been on the big screen quite a lot lately, and this movie was made from popular demand, so there is a market for it.
I myself am a big fan of the character and Steve Coogan in general and in my opinion this is one of the best film's he's ever been a part of.
The silliness of this story is so big, it overshadows the few jokes and since almost everything happens at just one place, it really drags.I don't get it: why not make a good movie using the successful concept of the original TV series, which made Alan Partridge and Steve Coogan so famous, with Alan as a TV host, interpolated with some moments of his private life?
I am a big fan of the TV shows and have seen and own the 'Knowing me Knowing you', and 'I'm Alan Partridge' series multiple times, as well as appreciating the Brass eye days.
Tim Key, Montagu and others all provide good support, but Coogan is the whole deal and all is well when the focus is on him.Alpha Papa isn't as great as it could have been and it certainly will not challenge the TV shows for quality, but it is a solid film version, albeit one that is best when it shuns the film narrative and gets close to the human monster of Alan Partridge..
Nothing to report home about other than a ranting middle-aged man working on a radio station who cares about getting a promotion and is confused whether to be real with himself and, in the film's scenario, protect the hostages or fight against a psychopathic recently fired radio presenter.What made Alan Partridge great was the uncanny dialogue and wit about him and this film offers a lot of his bizarre sense of humour but it cannot suffice for very long once the film wears thin and shifts gear into a Quentin Tarantino-esque and slightly frustrating film of long- winded dialogue and bizarre stop-start moments.
However, Magicians is its own product not based off a TV series but Mitchell & Webb are known to be on Peep Show which I do like and I hardly watch Harry Hill's TV Burp to say the least and an open mind might help make it good (like it was for Alien Autopsy, Mr. Bean's Holiday, Hot Fuzz, The World's End, and Kevin & Perry too, films with TV-based actors in them) I do have a sense of humour and Alpha Papa delivers in its first 15 minutes (with some knock- out jokes mocking film snobs and a nationalist party) but when the film shifts gears and becomes generic, so does Coogan's performance as the entertaining, idiosyncratic character himself.While the film may appeal to loyal fans, it did not appeal for me and I am sorry but Alpha Papa, with the anticipation it had and the weak, strange delivery it provided, I cannot recommend it and for those who have never seen Alan Partridge before, this will surely disappoint and provide a few chuckles to the uninitiated.One key difference though that made Men in Black 3 worse than Alpha Papa was because I have seen the MiB films since childhood, I was only a fan of Alan Partridge and Steve Coogan since around 2010.
Two decades ago, Coogan was still in his 20s when he was inspired by the likes of Alan Titchmarsh to create Partridge.In Alpha Papa, Partridge works for a Norwich based radio station which has been taken over by a new corporate that intends to fire some of the fuddy duddy presenters.One of the sacked radio presenter is so aggrieved, he ends up going to the radio station with a shotgun and takes hostages.
It's never sat well with me and I like to disregard anything after I'm Alan Partridge Series.In fact it seems that Coogan himself has lost track of the character's history as much of this film is completely out of whack with previously established AP.
However, much of his fame came from spoof radio DJ Alan Partridge, so a film about the man from Norwich is a safe bet.I have to say I didn't think much of the opening and was wondering what I had let myself in for, but, if you give it about half an hour, the jokes start flowing freely and you'll find yourself laughing out loud more often than not.If you've never seen Alan Partridge, you should be warned that it's an odd type of humour and maybe you should dip your toe into the various Partridge TV series if you're not too sure whether you'll like it.
Alan Partridge is just a movie simple fun to watch, I didn't expect nothing more than that, and otherwise was more than I expected, I have a really nice time watching it, very good laughs with not complicated plot but nothing stupid neither (You know in the moronic style), I appreciate Steve Coogan give a twist on the same old clichés on this kind of movies, You expect something but the movie deliver other stuff, mostly with good results, it was in some way "refreshing", Coogan shows he respect us as an a clever audience, and the good writer he is, very keen and sharp, and his performance was on the same style, he fit perfect the character, the cynicism of Alan Partridge give us some of the most funny parts of the film.I'am not going to tell details of the movie, I'm just going to tell you, if You like British comedy, and want to pass a good time, this movie can give you that, it doesn't matter that You don't' know Alan Partridge's TV series, You could watch it the same, I did.
I must start this to say I do really like Alan partridge the series but this movie just seemed like an unneeded money making film.
I think the problem is the character, who is just too stupid, you cannot empathise at all with him...Steve Coogan is a one dimensional actor, see The Look of Love, it's Alan Partridge again playing Paul Raymond.
Or maybe Steve Coogan just forgot how to make us laugh.Whatever the cause, the result is Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa isn't funny.The premise is reasonable and has potential, but the execution is lacking.
Farrell adjusts to life on the outside very badly and resorts to an armed siege of the radio station taking most of the staff hostage with Partridge becoming the go-between for the police.Good idea, set-up for great comedy and completely squandered opportunity.My guess is Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa isn't selling well.
I suspect though that this film would have seemed funnier in the company of an audience at a cinema rather than watching it, as I did, on TV in my living room and I think I laughed more at some of the half hour TV episodes rather than this 90 minute feature.Nevertheless, it did still further cement the Parttridge character as one of the most memorable of British comedic creations and if he comes round again, I'll certainly look in on the old guy and his misadventures..
It's nothing outstanding, but it definitely brings in several big laughs, Steve Coogan is the highlight of the movie, as he seems completely dedicated and still very happy playing Alan Partridge, a character he has been portraying for several years now.
It's a very average comedy that is worth a watch if you have some time to kill, but you certainly shouldn't be going out of your way to see Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.
I thought it would be a moderately enjoyable piece of cinema but it has turned out to be the best comedy film I have ever seen and I cannot remember many films that I have enjoyed much more than this one.It was a good choice of plot and was often laugh out loud funny.
Credit to all those involved in the film including the actor Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) who was excellent in his role.
So I have to say i'm alan partridge & saxondale are up there with the best I hated smack the pony but liked the parole officer i have open minds to all movies & humor but steve coogan does it so well & I think he should be awarded something to show that he has still gt it!Hail to the king...
Sorry but I didn't laugh once.I like Alan Partridge the TV series but I cannot see why so many seem to find this film funny.
From the first minute to the last, the film is entertaining, funny, and packed with the things that made I'm Alan Partridge as a TV series great.The recurring characters of Michael and Lynn are back, and Colm Meaney's performance as Pat Farrell is excellent.
It ticks all the right boxes in terms of laughs per scene but really it's all on Steve Coogan's head to make a silly set up work.I can see the fascination with the character and the film, but for me I didn't find it that funny or indeed that engaging.
Whether or not this will please fans of Partridge is one thing that is important about this, I believe it will but of course there is only one way to find out, go watch it.Now Steve Coogan not only plays classic old Alan with his legendary remarks and basically the same old stuff we expect(but funnier maybe), he also helps write the script.
It gave this a whole new sense of realistic comedy because you don't always know the actor involved and even if you do not so well so it seems much more original and shows that with the right people behind the helm, any cast can be good.Now a lot of credit goes to Armando Iannucci who comes in again to write this(among others including Coogan) to create that air tight script and bring Partridge to the big screen in a very well done way.
Now to be honest the world of DJ's is hardly the most exciting of worlds to explore, but that is what makes this so good, it rips off the cliché way in which radio DJ's do it and then adds a plot like this and mixes it together and makes it just plain funny.Another key to watching this is to hear Partridge out, or even hear Coogan out as sometimes he talks just a little too fast and the voice he puts on is not always the easiest to hear, but if you focus a lot on him, you will laugh your head off.
And so now comes one of the great British comedy characters: Alan Partridge.
There is a particular dig at Radio One, Nick Grimshaw style radio shows that pander to the youth market.Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a solid British comedy that has its moments and it will please fans of the character.
That doesn't mean that it isn't very good far from it in fact, at times this was very funny, but you have to remember that Alan Partridge was created by Steve Coogan firstly to make cameo appearances on a radio 4 spoof news show, his appeal was such though that this quickly escalated to him getting his own spoof chat show on BBC 2.
Pat takes this especially hard and ends up taking everyone hostage and will only communicate to the police through Partridge, and that is when the comedy/mayhem ensues, and like I said a couple of paragraphs ago there are some extremely funny laugh out loud moments in this film, and when it works it really works, whether it's when they find Michael who has spent the last 3 days living in a cupboard only for Partridge to proclaim "you're just like a big Geordie Anne Frank" or when he slaps a someone with his glove in the style of a Nazi officer but I just can't help thinking that I would have laughed more by watching 90 mins worth of the original I'm Alan Partridge TV show and considering you are expected to pay over £10 per ticket to go to the cinema nowadays it probably would have been the cheaper option.www.whatwouldwhippetdo.com.
Steve Coogan is great as Partridge; a character who is fun to watch even if he isn't exactly easy to like.
Alan has to mediate between Pat and the Police.I'm a big fan of the TV series, it's always a worry how well a TV comedy translates to a film.
Coogan is a fantastic actor, and Alan Partridge has been a big part of comedy culture for many a year.
Directed by Declan Lowney, "Alpha Papa" stars Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge, a mean-spirited radio presenter.
As a have never seen any of his TV shows I was expecting Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa to be another rubbish TV to film spin off like The Sweeney last year.