The Boat That Rocked is an anti-establishment period comedy tribute to Rock ‘n Roll and the heyday of Britpop in the ‘60s, written and directed by Richard Curtis (Love, Actually). Just like America has Good Morning Vietnam with Robin Williams, Britain has The Boat That Rocked a feel-good film with not 1 but 8 DJs, based on actual events involving an illegal DJ-infested boat broadcasting from the North Sea.
The cast (or crew in this case) are championed by Bill Nighy, Phillip Seymour Hoffmann, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans and Rhys Darby with Kenneth Branagh ranting from the shore like a tosser. Nighy is a late-blooming legend, whose stature adds a level of suave coolness to the production. His role as Quentin adds a lot of sea-faring experience to the ship, and not just because he wore an Octopus on his face. Phillip Seymour Hoffmann is The Count of Cool (literally), a worthy adversary to Robin Williams, minus all the funny voices and also brings his Oscar to the party.
Simon Pegg’s right hand man, Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), makes a splash as he bomb-drops into the pool as Dr. Dave with one too many topless scenes (with and without the ladies). Rhys Ifans (still trying to lose the Notting Hill underwear guy thing) makes an excellent peacock as Gavin Cavanagh, the dark horse and nemesis to The Count.
Rhys Darby aka Murray from The Flying Conchords is even more geekier than usual as Angus ‘The Nut’. While good old Kenneth Branagh makes a solid government ponce, not allowing the boys to spike their own drinks or run an off-shore radio station illegally. The rest of the cast fill in the gaps with a noteworthy performance from Tom Sturridge as the bright-eyed virgin and audience representative on-board.
“1 Boat, 8 DJs, No Morals” is the tagline, which sums up the majority of happenings in this light-hearted jaunt. The tagline also points to one of the film's primary detractors... there are too many main characters and no lead star. While everyone can enjoy a good team effort, The Boat That Rocked is one film that needs a principal star just like its movie alter-ego, Good Morning, Vietnam. While Tom Sturridge can act, he doesn't have the main sail or anchor needed to plot this film's course.
There are plenty of lively psychedlic colours reminiscent of Austin Powers’s tribute to the '60s with some memorable, nostalgic songs from the era. The Boat That Rocked is all about the Zeitgeist of the ‘60s in Britain. It's a character-driven film that melds loose historical interest and zany characters with a gold playlist: The Kinks, Martha & The Vandellas, The Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson, The Who, The Troggs, Procul Harum, The Moody Blues, Cat Stevens and even Jimi Hendrix.
The Radio Rock pirate station was a glorified fragment of British culture, that was keep afloat by the masses of doting teen and Rock 'n Roll fans. Popular music was seen as an infiltration to the system and was limited to a short segment a day on major radio stations, leaving a niche for Radio Rock, who were outlawed because they gave everyone what they wanted... Rock 'n Roll - 24 hours a day.
Richard Curtis captures the fervor of the youth culture of the times with a fun, larger-than-life take on what life on "The Boat" must have been like - debacherous. Alcohol, drugs, half-naked women... it was one rip-roaring party from start to finish, oozing cool with its rebellious Rock 'n Roll vibes and representing for the dawn of Britpop.
Imagine Austin Powers and Good Morning, Vietnam and you've got The Boat That Rocked... a funny, lightweight music period comedy with a superb comic cast, a uplifting "stick it to the Man" story and the epitomy of cult cool in its cast and style.
The bottom line: Swinging.
