The Boat That Rocked (2009)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Richard Curtis

Writer:

Richard Curtis (writer)

Release Date:

November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

1 Boat. 8 DJs. No Morals.

Plot:

A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960's.

Plot Keywords:

North Sea | American | Pirate Radio | 1960s | Pop Music

Cast

Bill Nighy	...	Quentin
Kenneth Branagh	...	Sir Alistair Dormandy
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	The Count
Nick Frost	...	'Doctor' Dave
Tom Sturridge	...	'Young' Carl
Rhys Ifans	...	Gavin
Rhys Darby	...	Angus 'The Nut' Nutsford
Tom Brooke	...	Thick Kevin
Gemma Arterton	...	Desiree
Ike Hamilton	...	Harold
Chris O'Dowd	...	'Simple' Simon Swafford
Talulah Riley	...	Marianne
Tom Wisdom	...	'Midnight' Mark
Will Adamsdale	...	'On-The-Hour' John
Ralph Brown	...	Bob Seaver

Also Known As:

Radio Rock Revolution (Germany)
Good Morning England (France) [fr]
I Love Radio Rock (Italy) [it]
Merirosvoradio (Finland) [fi]
Os Piratas do Rock (Brazil) (DVD title) [pt]
Piráti na vlnách (Czech Republic) [cs]
Radio Encubierta (Spain) [es]
Rock en plo (Greece) [el]
Rock'n Roll teknesi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Rock'n'Roll brod (Croatia) [hr]
Rock'n'Roll pirati (Slovenia) [sl]
Rockhajó (Hungary) [hu]
Rok-volna (Russia) [ru]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity.

Runtime:

UK:129 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:R | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | France:U

Filming Locations:

Gambardella's Cafe, Blackheath Standard, London, England, UK

Company:

Medienproduktion Prometheus Filmgesellschaft

Trivia:

Nick Frost and Bill Nighy worked together in Shaun of the Dead (2004), a parody of Dawn of the Dead (2004).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although set in 1966, most of the pop songs in the soundtrack were released after this time. Some of the songs featured were hits in 1969.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Minister Dormandy: Arse!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ooo Baby Baby

a good laugh

You can feel when watching this film that there was probably as much fun filming it as there was on the original boat in the sixties on which the film is based. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Rhys Iffans carried it for me but all of the actors contribute to the general hilarity. initially i had my doubts about the lead - his accent, his mannerisms - i hoped it would not be a recurrent trait in the rest of the cast... but luckily this is all addressed in various jokes and banter. i was extremely relieved to see that the comedy present in four weddings and love actually has matured to something a little more edgier, a little more general and a little less relevant to those die hard Hugh Grant fans (his oh-so-British-and-terribly-amusing middle class romances depicted in the past whooshing straight over my head... i hope not to see him in another film ever again. ever.) However the film seems to forget it is set right in the middle of the sixties - and i saw a few explicit suggestions of sex, a lot of rock'n'roll loving and barely even a mention of drugs. in that respect it is maybe too tame. but it makes up for it in its editing, soundtrack and script, its not too Hollywood but then not too desperately British. some of the jokes are maybe a little clichéd, over done and easily anticipated but apart from that its very enjoyable.