4) The Boat That Rocked

The Boat That Rocked (2009)

Director: Richard Curtis

Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Rhys Darby, Tom Surridge, Kenneth Brannagh


In the UK in the 1960s the only licensed radio broadcaster, the BBC, played very little in the way of recorded music. This left the broadcasting of popular music to pirate radio stations, with these unofficial stations being tuned into by as many as 25 million listeners. The Boat that Rocked tells the story of one such (fictional) radio station, Radio Rock, broadcasting rock and pop music 24 hours a day from a boat anchored off the coast of England in international waters.

Whilst boasting a brilliant ensemble cast of comic performers, the real star of this film is the soundtrack. The music is what the film is all about. It is the whole reason they are on the boat. So naturally, the music of the era is a constant presence through the film, providing a lively backing to some of crews shenanigans as well as punctuating some of the films more emotional moments (Procol Harem’s ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ is used to particularly powerful effect in the films climax).

Despite its stellar cast, The Boat that Rocked performed disappointingly at the British box office and was criticised for being overly long. This long running time is exacerbated by the films meandering pace. Things just don’t happen particularly quickly. This ultimately led to the decision to re-edit the film for its American release, cutting approximately 20 minutes from the film and retitling it Pirate Radio.

Honestly, this film is not as good as some of Curtis’s previous efforts (in particular Love Actually, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting HillI, though I think it safely outpoints Mr. Bean's Holiday), and probably isn’t even as good as it could have been, but it does have its share of brilliant moments and some really great characters. But if for nothing else, watch this film for its simply brilliant soundtrack.