182: In the Loop

In the Loop (R) - 2009 - Runtime: 106 minutes
Starring: Tom Hallander, James Gandolfini
Director: Armando Iannucci

Oh man, this movie was hilarious. I still snicker everytime I see the trailer and Peter Capaldi shouts "Nazi Julie Andrews!" There's so many obscene and wonderful lines in this movie, you could really watch this over and over again and find something new to laugh at.

Simon Foster, the British Minister for International Development, states off the cuff in a radio interview that "war is unforeseeable". He later tries to recant this statement to a hoard of news reporters with another statement: "to walk the road of peace, sometimes we need to be ready to climb the mountain of conflict". Both these remarks start a series of manoeuvrings on both sides of the Atlantic by both the pro- and anti-war factions in both governments (taken from imdb.com). Although this may seem like a cut and dry plot, it's bolstered by an abundance of absurd and very much obscene characters. Peter Capaldi plays Malcolm Tucker, the foul-mouth PR guy for the British government whose every line is filled with hysterical metaphors and every dirty word you can think of: "Well, it is out there, it's out there now, lurking like a big hairy rapist at a coach station. You know, if I could, I'd punch you into paralysis!" He's certainly the focal point of the hysteria, but the bumbling and rambling Simon Foster is just the polar opposite, who is the catalyst for sparking the anti-war charge. And on the other side of the pond are a bunch of idiots, too.

The movie portrays everyone involved as a self-centered, inept douchebag. Everyone has their own agenda and by the end of the movie, despite all the laughs, you're left wondering how hopeless and pathetic the government really is. Everyone that's rooting to push the war forward wins, no matter how much interference by the opposite side. It's a sobering end to an otherwise laugh out loud movie, but it doesn't detract from the movie, and I'm not complaining either.

So to wrap up, if you're not afraid of obsceneties blasting from every line, then this one is definitely worth your time - it's a fairly scathing comedy about the assholes and idiots that run our government. It's a keeper!

Rating: Own It!