In the Loop (15)

Apr 15 2009 Surrey Herald

THE BBC's award-winning sitcom The Thick of It gets a feature-length makeover with an array of fresh faces to turn the cult political farce into a hilarious big-screen hit.

When confronted head on with an imminent Glaswegian tongue-lashing, it would be advisable to pay attention and take on board all the relevant points raised. But after British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) manages to process all the information he has had yelled at him by the Prime Minister's director of communications Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), he stills publicly backs military action after bumbling his way through two live interviews.

After Simon's calamitous foot-in-mouth antics, he finds he has won some new friends in high places across the pond in Washington DC. Simon's political adviser, Toby Wright (Chris Addison), accompanies him to Washington in a bid to get in with the right people. But it soon becomes clear that everybody in the political system is looking after number one.

Government ministers, interns, military officers (James Gandolfini as General Miller) and MPs are always looking over their shoulder, never fully trusting anyone they come into contact with. And in the game of one-upmanship, only the toughest survive.

Director Armando Iannucci stays true to the choppy filming methods of The Thick of It, leaving actors open to crippling awkwardness when switching from camera to camera. Thankfully the film is a stand-alone entity, with no previous knowledge of the BBC series necessary.

A supporting role from Steve Coogan - a disgruntled constituent of Simon - makes for the perfect sub-plot to break away from the chaos within the transatlantic debacle. And unfortunately for Simon, it's Coogan's minor complaint that manifests to such an extent that it brings the cabinet minister back down to earth with a bang.

With everyone so caught up in their own struggle for power and success, they ultimately fail to do their day-to-day jobs effectively.

In the Loop truly is a breath of fresh air. It smacks you over the head repeatedly with its relentless obscenities (Peter Capaldi, predominantly), quick-fire laughs (which are non-stop) and its frantically paced script, which demands your full attention throughout.

In the Loop is the funniest film of the year and will live long in the memory.

Film facts

Genre: Comedy Director: Armando Iannucci Cast: James Gandolfini, Tom Hollander, Chris Addison, Chris Addison, Steve Coogan, Anna Chlumsky, Paul Higgins Did you know?: Director Armando Iannucci found editing his film down to 90 minutes incredibly hard. He was pleased with the final cut, but he wouldn't want to do it again Verdict: Hilarious. Pant-wettingly funny. An absolute must-see.