Revisiting...The Boat That Rocked (2009)

Poster Description: “A new comedy from Richard Curtis.” The sky and sea are clear and blue, fading into mist. The film’s title is bright red, matching the ship’s hull. Gavin (Rhys Ifans), Dave (Nick Frost), the Count (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), and Quentin walk the plank in a line with Quentin’s foot poised in the air off the edge. “Setting sail 2009.”

I am trying to remember how I came to own The Boat That Rocked. Most likely, I bought the DVD on a whim in between my volunteering responsibilities and looking for a job. That happened a lot in 2012. Nine years later, before Christmas, I watched it again and was amazed/horrified by how empty I felt as the credits rolled. Even with David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” blaring!

As always, those initial thoughts will be highlighted in blue.

2012: The Boat That Rocked (or Pirate Radio) is [directed] by Richard Curtis, the man behind such classics as Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and, um, Blackadder.

2024: Why did I hesitate at Blackadder? The series is a classic all its own. Also, I saw Love Actually over the Christmas period. Good grief. It has aged poorly in places, but that’s for another review!

2012: [The Boat That Rocked] is set in the 1960s, a time where the only way people could access music that wasn’t classical or approved by the BBC, was via pirate radio stations – sat out on boats in the middle of the North Sea.

2024: The plot is loosely based on an actual pirate radio station named Radio Caroline. A very young DJ called Tony Blackburn started out his career that way.

Image Description: Tony Blackburn is hard at work. The photo is black and white. A banner read Radio Caroline is clear to see on the wall, surrounded by radio equipment. The room is small and cramped with a long rectangular window, but Tony beams in his seat, hands resting on dials and buttons on his desk.

2012: One of these stations is the fictional ‘Radio Rock’, and Bill Nighy is at the helm.

2024: His character, Quentin, acts as the crew’s supervisor. With a group made up almost entirely of sex-crazed man-children in a small, buoyant space, the job ain’t easy. There is a brilliantly crafted scene involving a radio microphone where Quentin attempts to intervene with some on-air mischief. Like everything he does, Nighy’s performance comes with a wink and snorting laugh.

2012: But it is Carl who is the audience’s eyes for most of the film, as he meets all the weird (but rather wonderful) people on board.

2024: I can’t believe I didn’t name the actor playing him! Tom Sturridge – yes, THAT Tom Sturridge – would go on to appear in 2015’s Far From The Madding Crowd and the titular character in the Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Here, he’s a lad sent by his mother to get straightened out after getting caught smoking drugs at school. Yup. He’s sent to live on a boat where sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll are rife. Great parenting!

Image Description: On a bright, sunny day, the eclectic crew of Radio Rock dance jauntily along to music.

2012: The laughs come in thick and fast, courtesy of Nick Frost and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

2024: Not really. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has the dubious honour of acting as one of the likeable characters in the film.

2012: Frost’s character is known as ‘Doctor’ Dave, who tries to give Carl advice over, um, losing his virginity.

2024: Yes, it is as awful as it sounds. Every month, a group of young women are invited on board, and Dave hatches a plan to seduce a girl played by Gemma Arterton. I had to look up her character name because it isn’t mentioned, but it’s Desiree. The grand scheme Dave plots is Carl will switch places with him in the dark so Carl can finish the job. Yick. Nick Frost makes Dave an almost bearable human being, and I assume some people found the whole debacle funny, but there are many instances in this film where I felt very uncomfortable as a woman.

2012: Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the infamous Count, a foul-mouthed American with a significantly stubborn streak in him, which is put to the test in one hilarious scene with Ifans’ character, Gavin.

Image Description: Gavin wears a wide-brimmed hat with a long, pointed feather in the band. The hat is bright purple, matching his suit. He wears a thin scarf that trails in the breeze as he steps aboard the ship.

2024: Doctor Dave is awful, but Gavin is the worst. Along with Carl’s coming of age and trying to find out who his dad is, there is a bizarre subplot involving another DJ getting married. Played endearingly by Chris O’Dowd, Simon is besotted with a woman called Elenore, but why is Gavin so cold about it? The punchline is painful, and I don’t have the energy to explain it. Nevertheless, there is a surprisingly poignant scene where Simon’s heartbreak comes out over “Stay With Me Baby” by Lorraine Ellison. Many of the film’s best moments happen without dialogue, which (ironically) says volumes.

What struck me most about The Boat That Rocked is that all the women are throwaway characters for the sake of looking pretty, moving the plot, or making the men look good. Even Carl’s mum (the fantastically underused Emma Thompson) leaves almost as soon as she appears. You can tell that the costume designer, Johanna Johnson, had a great time developing her outfit. She’s incredibly glamorous.

Image Description: Charlotte (Emma Thompson) wears square, tortoise-shell sunglasses inside and big gold earrings. She’s dressed in black with a matching scarf with white polka dots. She’s smiling.

2012: The music that comes with the film is apt and nostalgic. You’ve got The Kinks, The Who, and Dusty Springfield.

2024: David Bowie. Need I say more?

2012: Honestly, is it possible for a 90s kid to feel nostalgic about the 60s?

2024: See also: the 80s. I’ve toyed with reviewing Purple Rain for a long time, but my points would be similar to this review. Just listen to the soundtrack, and you’ll be better for it.

2012: [The 60s]is depicted as a really exciting, fun time, and actually, the actors in [The Boat That Rocked] look like they’re having a whale of a time making it too.

2024: The whole stupid series of plots is a backdrop for the fantastic music. Because of this film, I can’t hear Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” without imagining deep, cold water.

2012: But aside from the jolly japes going on at Radio Rock, a little bit about the government trying to shut the pirate radio stations down (harder than they think), and the rather tiresome idea of Carl trying to figure out who his dad is, but that’s it.

2024: The Boat That Rocked is technically a comedy, so the main antagonist is a really exaggerated, old-fashioned middle-class type with a thing about weird analogies. Still, Sir Kenneth Branaugh is enjoying himself far too much; Jack Davenport is his lackey with a name that is a lesser man’s “Darling.” That’s all I’m gonna say.

2012: Still, it skips merrily along, and if you like Curtis’ style of humour, it’s a very enjoyable experience.

2024: If you don’t…join the club. It’s funny in places, and I appreciate that The Boat That Rocked is a love letter to the 1960s: stellar music and wild fashion, but casual misogyny is rife. I consider The Boat That Rocked a Lads Film™, and that’s fine, just no longer this reviewer’s port of call.

My Ratings:

2012: 3 STARS OUT OF 5

2024: 2.5 STARS OUT OF 5

My Sources:

The Boat That Rocked poster – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_That_Rocked

Was The Boat That Rocked based on a true story? - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv

The history of Radio Caroline – https://msmokemusic.com/blogs/mind-smoke-blog/posts/6508113/remembering-pirate-radio

Image: Tony Blackburn at work – https://bournemouthbeatboom.wordpress.com/tony-blackburn/

Image: The crew having a boogie – https://patrickonthebox.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/the-boat-that-rocked-dir-richard-curtis/

Image: Gavin – https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2009/7/29/the-boat-that-rocked-pirate-radio-movie-review-top-richard-curtis-comedy/

Image: Charlotte – https://the-boat-that-rocked.fandom.com/wiki/Charlotte

The Boat That Rocked cast - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm