Pirate Radio


Rating = B-

I guess the main theme of this film is accurate — that the BBC didn't play much rock and roll and sea based unlicensed radio stations broadcast the music to a British public who wanted to hear it. It is not a great movie — lots of sophomoric high jinx by uncouth male DJs in 1960s hippie dress smoking lots of pot. But it made me laugh frequently. Kenneth Branagh is almost Monte-Python-esque in his parody of the uptight government official determined to stamp out pirate radio. There are lots of other caricatures of rock-and-roll DJ and English behavioral stereotypes. And there are plenty of bits of familiar music for those of us old enough to remember it.

[2009-11-10, Lloyd Center, Portland, OR]