"PIRATE RADIO" (2009) (Tom Sturridge, Philip Seymour Hoffman) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Heavy Moderate Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None Mild Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Extreme Moderate Heavy Minor QUICK TAKE: Dramedy: In order to get around British national radio not playing rock and roll music during the 1960s, a ship of eccentric characters and music lovers anchors off the coast and plays such tunes to half the population, much to the chagrin of the government that wants them shut down. PLOT: It's 1966 and British artists are producing some of the greatest rock and roll in the world, but nationally owned British radio won't play any of the music. To fill the void, various ships have positioned themselves off the coast and broadcast such tunes to half the population. The biggest may be Radio Rock, run by Quentin (BILL NIGHY) on an old fishing trawler where American deejay The Count (PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN) is the biggest star, having replaced his legendary British counterpart, Gavin (RHYS IFANS). There's also Dave (NICK FROST) who's quite the ladies man despite his appearance or the fact that no women, save for lesbian cook Felicity (KATHERINE PARKINSON), are permanently onboard. The cool Mark (TOM WISDOM) is even more successful with the opposite sex when they're brought onboard, unlike Angus (RHYS DARBY) or Harold (IKE HAMILTON), while Bob (RALPH BROWN) is rarely seen by the others due to his early morning broadcast schedule. John (WILL ADAMSDALE) is the news reader, Thick Kevin (TOM BROOKE) isn't the brightest bulb on the ship, and normal Simon (CHRIS O'DOWD) is getting married to Elenore (JANUARY JONES) who's going to live onboard with him. But the youngest guy on the trawler turns out to be Carl (TOM STURRIDGE) who's been expelled from school and whose mom (EMMA THOMPSON) has sent him to spend time with Quentin, his godfather. Realizing the boy needs to do some growing up, he arranges for the attractive Marianne (TALULAH RILEY) to be Carl's date, all as Carl wonders if Quentin might really be the father he's never know. Back on shore, stuffy government official Dormandy (KENNETH BRANAGH) has made it his quest to shut down the broadcast pirates and in particular Radio Rock. Ordering his assistant, Twatt (JACK DAVENPORT), to do the dirty work, Dormandy is determined to pull the plug on the off-shore radio operation. Yet, as he becomes ever more determined, so do those on the ship, especially with the return appearance of Gavin who immediately becomes The Count's rival. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of early rock 'n roll, someone in the cast, or films from the writer/director of "Love Actually" (and writer of "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary") it doesn't seem anyone but older teens might have an interest in it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language, and some sexual content including brief nudity. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BILL NIGHY plays the manager of Radio Rock and unofficial captain of their trawler who runs a loose ship as long as they all do their job of playing rock and roll music. He drinks some, uses some profanity, and briefly smokes. PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN plays the Yank deejay on the ship who wants to be the first to use the "f" word on-air (he does so repeatedly off-air), isn't happy when Gavin -- who he earlier replaced -- returns, smokes, and drinks. KENNETH BRANAGH plays the stuff government official who's determined to shut down the Radio Rock broadcasts by whatever means necessary. He's also demeaning toward Twatt, his subordinate. JACK DAVENPORT plays the civil servant who must endure working for him, but is good at coming up with ways to thwart the radio pirates. He briefly uses strong profanity. TOM STURRIDGE plays a young man (18) who joins the crew after his mother sends him there to do some growing up. He briefly smokes, wants to have sex with Marianne, and eventually does. RHYS IFANS plays the former star deejay of pirate radio who returns to his old post and takes up exactly where he left off, using all sorts of sexually related innuendo on the air when not clashing with the Count. NICK FROST plays one of the deejays who's quite the ladies man despite his physical appearance. He smokes and ends up sleeping with Marianne when Carl was preparing to bed her. KATHERINE PARKINSON plays the ship's lone female crew member, the lesbian cook who has a fling with a woman onboard the ship. She smokes. TALULAH RILEY plays Quentin's young adult niece brought onboard by him to be Carl's date, but as she's waiting for Carl to retrieve a condom, she ends up in bed with Dave. But she later sleeps with Carl as well. RALPH BROWN plays the ship's morning deejay, an older hippy who's rarely seen by the others, mainly due to his hours but also because he's apparently using drugs. RHYS DARBY plays another station member who's often seen with a pipe. TOM BROOKE plays Carl's cabin-mate, a fairly dense guy when it comes to common sense matters. CHRIS O'DOWD plays a station member who's quite happy to get married and have his bride onboard with him, only to learn she married him just to be with Gavin. JANUARY JONES plays that young woman who weds him for just that reason. EMMA THOMPSON plays Carl's mom, something of a sexual legend among those onboard, and it's suggested she sleeps with one of them when she visits. She also briefly drinks. TOM WISDOM plays the sexy, laidback deejay who looks like Jim Morrison and smokes. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated dramedy. Profanity consists of at least 22 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, sexual encounters (straight and one lesbian) occur off camera, but some brief fooling around as well as male nudity (bare butt, another with just his hands over his crotch) are seen, as are breasts from a distance on a poster or photo. A few people receive incidental injuries, and a ship takes on water and eventually sinks. While there are scenes of people in peril from floodwaters, they are played fairly lightly (with rock rather than suspenseful music on the soundtrack), while those with sensitivity to heights might not like a scene high above that ship. Drinking and smoking occurs in many scenes, and there are comments about drug use. A little bit of crude humor is present, and some women are viewed seated on toilets, but nothing scatological-related is seen or heard. Bad attitudes are present, as is behavior that some kids might be enticed to imitate. Some tense family material is present, but is mostly played for comedy. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's a great deal of camera movement early in the film on the ship. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We see a drink by a miscellaneous man. The Count has a beer. Carl admits that he was expelled from school for smoking both cigarettes and pot. The Count has a beer, and then again in another scene. Some girls share wine from a bottle. A woman holds a bottle of champagne on a boat as it approaches the ship. A young woman arrives at Dave's room with a bottle of liquor, and he jokingly asks if she's trying to get him drunk and she replies yes. The Count has a beer. Bob mentions taking lots of drugs (as one reason no one ever sees him). Mark has a beer. Quentin mentions losing a station member to alcohol poisoning in the past. Quentin and Marianne have wine, with Carl then joining them. We see empty beer bottles at a party, followed later by Carl saying (about himself) that there was too much drinking. One of the guys thinks that Carl's mom sending him to spend time on the ship -- where there's sex, drugs and alcohol -- is odd punishment. People have beer and champagne after a wedding. Various people have drinks at a Christmas party. Carl's mom has cognac. Various people drink at a party. Dormandy and Twatt have wine with dinner. We see a beer by Twatt. Dormandy, his family and Twatt toast with champagne. Quentin has a drink. Gavin has some champagne. BLOOD/GORE Dave's date walks into the bathroom and sits on the toilet to pee in front of him, but we don't hear or see anything. The Count's fingers look bruised or bloodied some time after he's jumped a long way from the top of the mast to the sea below. Making various sexual confessions, Gavin comments about one farting after sex, but that really being diarrhea, resulting in "poo" all over the sheets. David then admits he did that while cheating on his wife. We see Marianne seated on a toilet, but don't see or hear anything. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Dormandy states that if the government doesn't like something, it can just make up a law to use against it. About a room being dark for sex, Dave states it's so dark that the Pope could walk in and "poke" the young woman there (some viewers might not like that joke). Upon hearing that Felicity is a lesbian, Gavin jokingly asks if that's full or part-time, and then playfully grabs her clothed butt. Despite knowing Carl is about to have sex with Marianne, Dave ends up bedding her instead. Dormandy is constantly demeaning and belittling toward Twatt. Simon's new bride admits that she's really in love with Gavin and only married Simon to be able to get onboard the ship. She then says she'll be having sex with Gavin rather than him every night. She then adds that will be next door, he says having sex, with her saying hopefully, adding that he might hear them. David admits to cheating on his wife in the past. A person is referred to as a "bit of a posh tosser." Various people on the ship decide to continue broadcasting despite that now being illegal. When informed that the ship is sinking, Dormandy orders that no rescue attempts be made. FRIGHTENING SCENES The Count challenges Gavin to a dare, and both end up climbing up the ship's very tall mast, with The Count nearly slipping at one point. They then continue to the very top and out along the narrow horizontal beam. Gavin then jumps off and falls a long way before hitting the water, followed by The Count reluctantly doing the same. We later see The Count with his arm in a sling and some bandaged fingers, while Gavin's ankle/foot is wrapped. We hear but don't see the ship's engine explode, resulting in some ship shaking and then news that it's sinking at night, in the icy cold water with no useable life boats. There's some panicking and running through flooded hallways, gushing water and such, but this isn't played entirely realistically in terms of fright, especially with rock songs playing rather than any sort of suspenseful music, etc. Carl rescues Bob from his room as that part of the ship floods, but the older man ends up falling through an opening and sinking down deep due to the box of records he's holding. Carl then has to swim down to him, convince him to give up on the albums, and then swim up for air. The crew goes up top as the ship continues to sink, with the bow rising up during the last moments (but they then spot rescue boats arriving and jump into the water to swim over to them). GUNS/WEAPONS The Count makes a gun gesture toward Gavin. About blocked radio signals being something that can be used against the radio pirates, that's referred to as a "smoking gun." Police carry automatic weapons as they board the ship. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Now get the f*ck out" (said playfully), "F*cking genius," "There's no such thing as a tiny little f*ck," "F*ck off," "You're f*cking doing f*cking what?" "Oh f*ck," "What the f*ck /are you doing here/was that?" "Oh shut the f*ck up," "F*ck that sideways," "Time we get the f*ck out of here," "A f*ck-load of boats," "Oh sh*t," "She's a sexual legend," "Who is of the lesbionic tendency," "I need to pull the pin on my love grenade," "Bottom-bashing fornicators," "Open your knees and feel the breeze," "Tweaking the nation's nipples," "Think of me when you come," "A few more years of reckless shagging," "A shag well shagged," "Spectacular mistake," "What the hell are you doing (here)?" "Nice clean bird," "Jugular my ass," "Bloody," "Oh shut up," "Bastard," "You silly bastards," "Nuts" (testicles), "A bit of a posh tosser," "Good morning, hep cats," "I don't give a hootenanny G*ddamn" and "Crappy." The film might inspire kids to start their own "radio" program (such as on the Internet). Quentin playfully gives the others "the finger" with both hands. A joke is told about a squirrel that swims on its back to keep its "nuts" dry. Upon hearing that Felicity is a lesbian, Gavin jokingly asks if that's full or part-time, and then playfully grabs her clothed butt. The Count challenges Gavin to a dare, and both end up climbing up the ship's very tall mast, with The Count nearly slipping at one point. They then continue to the very top and out along the narrow horizontal beam. Gavin then jumps off and falls a long way before hitting the water, followed by The Count reluctantly doing the same. We later see The Count with his arm in a sling and some bandaged fingers, while Gavin's ankle/foot is wrapped. The Count and another man playfully swing Angus -- by his feet and hands -- off the ship and into the sea. Quentin uses his middle finger to point. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) The Rolling Stones' song "Let's Spend the Night Together" has those very lyrics, while The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" has non-explicit, sexually related lyrics. PROFANITY At least 22 "f" words, 1 "s" word, 4 slang terms for sex ("poke" along with 3 variations of "shag"), 8 jokey slang terms for female genitals as a man's last name but with an extra letter ("Twatt"), 3 using male genitals ("knob" and "c*ck"), 1 for breasts ("boobies"), 4 asses, 2 bollocks, 2 damns, 2 hells, 1 crappy, 1 wanker, 5 uses of "Oh my God," 2 of "For God's sakes" and 1 use each of "Christ," "G-damn" and "Oh Christ." SEX/NUDITY About Carl's mother, Quentin says she's a sexual legend. A joke is told about a squirrel that swims on its back to keep its "nuts" dry. During a scene where The Count wants to use the "f" word on the air, Quentin stops him, with complaints that it would be just a "little f*ck." Quentin replies there's no such thing, prompting others to joke that one should ask Angus' girlfriend about that. Angus comments about Felicity being of the "lesbionic tendency." When he hears that women will be brought onboard, Carl asks if that means there will be sex. There's a joke about Angus having a tiny "knob" (penis), with him replying he likes that as it means he can wear small underwear. When a smaller boat approaches with a bunch of women, one guy eagerly states he wants to sleep with all of them. One of them passionately kisses Dave. When they all pair off with the guys, Felicity laments that none are left for her. When asked what his father did (for a living), Carl replies that the man had sex with his mom and then left. About a room being dark for sex, Dave states it's so dark that the Pope could walk in and "poke" the young woman there. Dave jokes about Carl and his pencil-sized penis, followed by telling him a pending sexual encounter could be the best five minutes of his life. A young woman then arrives at Dave's room with a bottle of liquor, and he jokingly asks if she's trying to get him drunk and she replies yes. He then says he needs to pull the pin on his love grenade (referring to his zipper), and then turns off the lights, saying he can't make love in electric light. We then hear some sounds of kissing, and he excuses himself to put on some protection, and thus heads into the bathroom where he encounters Carl who's shirtless. We see Dave fully nude save for his hands over his crotch, and he comments on it being so dark in the room that the Pope could walk in and "poke" the young woman there. After hiding under material while Dave's cleavage-revealing date comes in to pee, Carl is then worried about his own size issue, prompting Dave to tell him to find the right position, that it will be over before she realizes it, and tells Carl to just be quick. Carl then enters the bedroom, fully nude (we see full rear nudity), but realizes he's in the wrong room as the young woman in the bed screams and he rushes out. A comment is made about "bottom-bashing fornicators." Upon hearing that Felicity is a lesbian, Gavin jokingly asks if that's full or part-time, and then playfully grabs her clothed butt. Gavin does sexual bits on the radio, asking his female listeners if they're doing something dirty and then tells them to "open your knees and feel the breeze." He then comments about looking up their skirt, comments about it feeling good, of tweaking the nation's nipples, and finishes that with "Think of me when you come." A photo or poster on a wall (in the distance) shows bare breasts. About having Marianne as his arranged date, Carl goes to Dave and asks if he can borrow a condom. Later, when Dave walks in on them (before sex), he states he can see why Carl wanted one. Marianne acts upset about that and Carl thinking she was easy, prompting Carl to throw the condom out the window and into the sea. Marianne is turned on by that gesture and tells him she thinks they're going to need that condom, so Carl goes back to Dave who's now out of them. He then goes to Gavin who gives him one, telling him to be gentile but firm, and then when he's done, to rinse out the condom to be able to use it again. When Carl returns, he finds Marianne in bed under the sheets with Dave (we see his bare chest). About supposedly having something they can use to shut down the radio pirates, Dormandy equates that to having their testicles in their hands and that it feels good. One of the guys thinks that Carl's mom sending him to spend time on the ship -- where there's sex, drugs and alcohol -- is odd punishment. Gavin makes a zipper sound on the radio for a female listener. Carl asks Simon how sex was with his new bride. Simon says it will get better as she was tired and he was excited. We then see them together in their room (she in lingerie that shows cleavage) and he comments about them having a few more years of "reckless shagging" before having a family, but she informs him that she's really in love with Gavin and only married Simon to be able to get onboard the ship. She then says she'll be having sex with Gavin rather than him every night. She then adds that will be next door, he says having sex, with her saying hopefully, adding that he might hear them. Later, after she's left the ship, Simon asks Gavin, "Did you?" and Gavin replies it was just "one little pop." Quentin reminds others that Gavin had sex with Simon's new bride. We see miscellaneous women in bikinis, while some of the men on the ship sunbathe in swimsuits, with Quentin joking that he can see one's "nuts." Making various sexual confessions, The Count says he never had a sexual dream involving the royal family, while Felicity says she's never had sex with a man. Angus then says he did once with a guy at school, while Gavin comments about one farting after sex, but that really being diarrhea, resulting in "poo" all over the sheets. David then admits he did that while cheating on his wife. While on the radio, Gavin comments about pubic hair. The Rolling Stones' song "Let's Spend the Night Together" has those very lyrics, while The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" has non-explicit, sexually related lyrics. Carl and Marianne passionately kiss while clothed on a bed and start to undress, but the scene ends there. We next see them in bed, with her partially draped across him (we see her bare back and his bare chest). When Carl comes out later, the broadcast team is there, doing a live radio bit about him losing his virginity, with Marianne peaking out as do Felicity and a woman from another room, suggesting those two had sex as well (we see their bare shoulders). Quentin tells Carl he should hide his pornography (not seen), what with his mother coming for a visit. About Carl's mom's earlier sex resulting in Carl's existence, Angus comments on that being a "shag well shagged." About Bob, Carl tells his mom to please say she didn't sleep with him. She replies of course she did, as did everybody else. It's then implied that she slept with Mark the night before. About not wanting to leave the ship, Felicity states the reason as being worried about where her ever increasing sexuality will take her back home. About the law, Quentin says they'll crush "our testicles like grapes." Dave tells Carl he feels guilty for sleeping with Marianne two or three times. About a woman wearing a shirt with his name on it, Simon comments about his name being on her "boobies." SMOKING The Count, Mark, Dave, Angus (pipe) and Gavin each smoke throughout the film, Carl smokes a few times, Quentin, Carl's mom and Felicity each smoke once, and a number of miscellaneous characters smoke in various scenes. Carl admits that he was expelled from school for smoking both cigarettes and pot. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Carl's mom wasn't happy with him being expelled from school and thus sent him to spend time with his godfather on the pirate radio ship. When asked what his father did (for a living), Carl replies that the man had sex with his mom and then left. Once he learns his biological father is likely onboard the ship, he tries to figure out who that is. Simon's new bride admits that she's really in love with Gavin and only married Simon to be able to get onboard the ship. She then says she'll be having sex with Gavin rather than him every night. She then adds that will be next door, he says having sex, with her saying hopefully, adding that he might hear them. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The historical accuracy of and/or artistic license taken with the real story. The comment that the mid-1960s was the greatest era for British rock 'n roll, but the irony was that British-run radio wouldn't play any of the music. The comment that governments loathe people being free. Dormandy states that if the government doesn't like something, it can just make up a law to use against it. Quentin mentions losing a station member to alcohol poisoning in the past. Gavin tells Carl that when the latter is done with a condom, he should rinse it out so it can be used again. Casual sex. VIOLENCE One guy accidentally falls of a top bunk (played for comedy). The Count challenges Gavin to a dare, and both end up climbing up the ship's very tall mast, with The Count nearly slipping at one point. They then continue to the very top and out along the narrow horizontal beam. Gavin then jumps off and falls a long way before hitting the water, followed by The Count reluctantly doing the same. We later see The Count with his arm in a sling and some bandaged fingers, while Gavin's ankle/foot is wrapped. Reviewed October 20, 2009 / Posted November 13, 2009

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