The Boat That Rocked (2009)
Directed by Richard Curtis
When a group of rebellious deejays decides to defy the ban on government-censored music, they take to the seas to broadcast music and mayhem to millions of adoring fans.
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What critics compared The Boat That Rocked to
…deejay named Emperor Rosko and played by Hoffman as an exuberant extension of his Lester Bangs in “Almost Famous.’’
Macho games of chicken!) around a baseline narrative—involving young Carl’s (Tom Sturridge) experiences joining the musically obsessed crew—poorly pilfered from Almost Famous .
It's eclectic staff includes celebrated Yank D.J ââ¬ËThe Countââ¬Ë (Philip Seymour Hoffman, seemingly reprising his role as Lester Bangs from "Almost Famous" and enjoying it just as much the second time around), chunky womanizer Dave (Nick Frost), rehabilitated wild-man Gavin (Rhys Ifans), terminal sad-sack Simon (Chris O'Dowd), the dense Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke), New Zealander Angus (Rhys Darby) and young ladies-man Mark (Tom Wisdom).
And the disc jockeys are mostly unremarkable (with Philip Seymour Hoffman basically recycling his Lester Bangs act from “Almost Famous”).
His naïve Carl, peeking forward to manhood like Almost Famouss William Miller (Patrick Fugit), forms the dramatic backbone of the story.
Mr. Hoffman’s is a slovenly, less accomplished version of the Lester Bangs of “Almost Famous,” Mr. Ifans’s the slick, mysterious womanizer and Mr. Branagh’s the profoundly cranky government employee.
Also onboard: an enigmatic late-night DJ (Ralph Brown, of Withnail & I), a nutty New Zealander (Rhys Darby, from Flight of the Conchords), the thick "Thick Kevin" (Tom Brooke), a few other disc jockeys and engineers, a news reader, and Quentin's starry-eyed, still-a-virgin godson, Carl (Tom Sturridge).
As written by Richard Curtis (“Love Actually,” “Pirate Radio”) and directed by Danny Boyle (possibly the most diversified filmmaker working today), “Yesterday” is an affable romantic comedy/fantasy with a nice star turn by Himash Patel (a British TV actor making his big-screen debut).
But it does have heart to spare, thanks to Danny Boyle’s tender direction from an endearing script by Richard Curtis, writer of British rom com classics like Love Actually , Four Weddings and a Funeral , Notting Hill , the Bridget Jones movies, and my favorite of the bunch, Pirate Radio .
This is very much a lesser work from Richard Curtis, the man who wrote “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill,” “Pirate Radio,” and “Love Actually.”