Travelling in Nottingham

In The Loop

In The Loop

106 minutes
Dir: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, Tom Hollander, Steve Coogan

At last. A British comedy that's actually funny, clever, and best of all doesn't have Hugh Grant in it, is now available on DVD.

Armando Iannucci In The Loop, is a spin-off from award-winning political comedy The Thick of It. Small screen to big screen transitions have had limited success in the past, but, happily, this one is brilliant.

Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) is back, and this time he's heading for America. Capaldi's bullying, foul-mouthed government spin doctor is sent to manage the ministers in a satire of the lead-up to a thinly veiled replica of the Iraq war.

If you haven't had the good fortune to see Tucker in action in the TV series, imagine a cross between Alistair Campbell and Basil Fawlty (at their most angry) and you're there.

After junior minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) announces on radio that war is "unforeseeable", and claims Britain will have to "climb the mountain of conflict," Tucker is left to sort out the mess. "What are you," he screams at Foster, "a Nazi Julie Andrews?"

When the secret American war committee meet and invite Foster to join them, Tucker follows him State-side to pick up the pieces. The highlight of the film has to be Foster's fantastic squirming when the Americans ask him to comment on the prospect of war.

Mindful that maniac Tucker has warned him not to say anything, and after telling aide Toby (Chris Addison) the meeting will be "easy peasy, lemon squeezy," he awkwardly announces that war is, as the British say, "difficult, difficult, lemon difficult."

And, on top of the prospect of imminent international war, Foster also has to deal with one of his constituents (Steve Coogan) complaining about his garden wall falling down. Coogan clearly enjoys playing the angry resident role, and makes this subplot an apt and balancing diversion from Capitol Hill.

In The Loop is sharp, funny, and almost suspiciously timely. In one scene, Foster says he had to watch a shark documentary in his hotel for fear that porn might show up on the hotel bill. Jacqui Smith's husband might have benefited from such forethought.

For our money, it's one of the best films out this year. Here's hoping the success of the film might mean a second series of the TV show.

We think it's brilliant, brilliant, lemon brilliant.

Heather Skillen

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