The Boat That Rocked (DVD)

It is the sixties and, despite the government's best attempts to stop it, a group of disc jockeys have set up a pirate radio station on a boat in the middle of the North Sea. Eighteen year old Carl finds himself in the middle of it all when his mother sends him to stay on the boat, obstensibly to sort himself out after a bout of misbehaving. Carl soon finds that being on the boat is no punishment and he settles in happily with Quentin, the manager, all the DJs and Felicity, the lesbian cook. It soon becomes apparent, however, that one of the men is his father...can he work out which one it is? And will the constant attempts by the government to close them all down ...  Read the complete review

The Boat That Rocked is a swinging sixties laugh-a-thon about 'Radio Rock,' a fictional pirate radio station broadcasted from a cannibalised fishing trawler in the North Sea. The story starts when a young teenager called Carl is sent aboard the boat to live with godfather Quentin, since his mother feels he needs some adult supervision after being expelled. However, this turns out to be a 'spectacular mistake,' since the majority of Radio Rock's DJ's are alcoholic chain-smoking sex fiends, all aiming to live the 'rock and roll lifestyle' to the fullest. Carl is rapidly accepted within the group and forms a unique friendship with the eccentric and raucous crew members, ...  Read the complete review

With an awesome tracklist and a host of comedic stars pacing their way through Richard Curtis' latest offering, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be disappointed with this film. Its catchy title and promise to just have fun lives up to expectations, as it examines the very real controversy of pirate radio stations in the 1960s. In the North Sea, Radio Rock has had its place on its fishing boat for long enough to establish itself as the most popular pirate radio station. When the authorities decide enough is enough, steps are taken to try and bring down pirate stations within the confines of the law. However, this proves to be trickier than they imagined, for ...  Read the complete review

I am getting on a bit, but when I was a young girl, right through to my teens, I loved listening to pop music. I still do. But it isn't as much fun these days as there are so many bands, and stations on the radio, cable channels or internet to choose from. You don't get to 'know' the DJ's in the same way, unless you stick to a few radio stations, such as the range of BBC's, or Heart. Back in the day, reception was really poor for listening to the radio. We used to use 'trannie's' ( a very different use of the word exists now!) which was short for Transistor Radio's, and they were usually quite small, with a long ariel, and you had to wave them about to ...  Read the complete review

Please note this review is based on seeing the film at the cinema, and as such does not include any details on the DVD extras or packaging. I'm sure I'm not alone among blokes at groaning at the name Richard Curtis - king of the romcom. The fact is his films are a mixed bag of foppish, middle class English Britflicks that range wildly in quality. Four Weddings is quite good but ruined by the awful 'is it raining, I hadn't noticed?' line at the end. Notting Hill is annoying and unrealistic. Love Actually has a number of intertwined stories ranging from poignant and well-realised (Alan Rickman's mid-life crisis and almost-affair) to absolute rubbish (Kris ...  Read the complete review