Reviewed by Richard Lee Zuras

Released July, 24 2009

1 hr. 46 min.

Armando Iannucci/IFC Films

Peter Capaldi

Mimi Kennedy

Tom Hollander

Gina McKee

James Gandolfini

Anna Chlumsky

You may not know who Peter Capaldi is. But if you see this film, and you should, you will always remember his performance. You may not remember Anna Chlumsky from her star childhood turn in My Girl, but you should. (Anna Chlumsky is in the mold of childhood Oscar winner Anna Paquin, who has lately lit up the small screen in True Blood). Throw in Mimi Kennedy from Dharma and Greg and the oddly funny James Gandolfini of Sopranos fame and you have the ultimate B-list cast. And that’s exactly the type of cast this movie benefits from. This is a movie the big Hollywood studios/Hollywood A-listers would have mangled.

Critics compare this film to Wag the Dog and that is fair. And it does have elements of standard british humor a-la Monty Python. But this film, political satire that it is, is singular in that the character played by Capaldi, Malcolm Tucker, is the biggest jerk you’ve ever laughed at. He’s ascerbic and abrasive. He’s an ass. And boy is he funny. I viewed this in a packed house and I can’t count the number of lines I didn’t hear as I waited for the laughter to subside. If you were going to be cursed out by someone, this would be the man. Though I wonder if you or me, in real life, would find it so funny after all!

Essentially the film is a send-up of the Bush/Blair Iraq war/Weapons of Mass Destruction debacle. It is much more. Anyone who wears their red power-tie into the theater will miss a truly clever, immensely funny movie-going experience, so I implore you to check your politics at the door. Any war decision or high power subject could be at the heart of this piece and it would work. The humor is in the way we all want power, and about how we all make gaffes.

The beauty is in the script–truly as well crafted in its dialogue as I’ve seen/heard in a long time. Every character seems to get the tenor of this film. The director employs an agressive style to perfection. The editing is a lesson in how to cut for comic effect. The film is so tight that on the rare occasion it misses, you actually feel disappointed. Like the pitcher just gave up his first hit in the ninth.

When you are finished, and you want more of Peter Capaldi, you will want to know right off that he is the longtime comedy partner of one Hugh Laurie (Dr. Greg House). He was the best part of the comedy tandem’s ill-fated show Fortysomething. Many believe he was the best part of Blackadder. He is a british talent waiting for America to discover him. In a way I hope America does not. I’d hate to see a good thing ruined.

Bottom line 4.5/5.0