Pirate Radio

Spanks - 4

Director - Richard Curtis

Writer - Richard Curtis

Starring - Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh & Tom Sturridge

Release Date - 13 November 2009

MPAA Rating - R

Pirate Radio (originally known as The Boat that Rocked) is the newest film from the brilliant mind who brought the world Mr. Bean and Blackadder. The film takes place in the United Kingdom in 1966. It follows the staff of pirate radio station Rock Radio who are on a ship in the North Sea and the politicians in London who want to shut them down.

The staff of Rock Radio are all fun and free and enjoy to party and rock. Rock n' Roll is the biggest thing in their lives and their listeners. Things change when they find out the British government wants them off the air. They don't plan to give up without a fight. The film is loosely based on true events involving pirate radio stations at the time, but certain plot elements like Rock n' Roll being banned on the British Isles is completely fiction. Writer/Director Richard Curtis said this film was made for entertainment purposes only and not to tell the real story of events of the late 1960s.

The film is funny, but in a British way of funny. If you don't like the British comic style, this film isn't for you. If you don't mind it, you will enjoy it greatly. All the characters are likeable, and Philip Seymour Hoffman continues to be a fantastic actor.