The Thousands

Richard Curtis’s comedy about 60s radio pirates – and the bureaucrats who wanted to shut ‘em down – lacks the satirical edge of his best work. It’s a veritable smoothie of a film, throwing elements from other movies into a cinematic blender to create something frothy and bland. Imagine, if you will, ALMOST FAMOUS meets FOOTLOOSE meets THE COMMITMENTS meets TITANIC.

There’s an innocent boy (Tom Sturridge) coming of age via sex, drugs and rock’n'roll, with Philip Seymour Hoffman pretty much being Lester Bangs again.**Rhys Darby plays a daggy New Zealander, Nick Frost plays a wisecracking fat guy, plus we’ve got the chick and the Irishman from THE IT CROWD. Kenneth Branagh revisits the cuntish G-man he played in RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, while Jack Davenport maintains his smarminess from the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films.

Yeah, they have some quirky adventures on board that boat, and there are cheap laughs to be had from characters named Twatt and Clitt, but the real reason to see THE BOAT THAT ROCKED is the soundtrack: a ripper blend of 60s rock and soul, plus… uh, ‘Let’s Dance’ by David Bowie.