To many Americans, the character of Alan Partridge is probably unfamiliar. This isn’t so overseas in the U.K. where the character, played by Steve Coogan, is a hit who has appeared in many different television series and specials. He finally got his own feature film this year, and the result is one interesting little comedy film.
The character of Alan Partridge is a silly one that can be somewhat described as if Michael Scott had his own radio show. He’s very silly and also very sure of himself, but secretly insecure. Although this was my first go-around with the character, I felt familiar with him rather quickly which helped my enjoyment of the film a great deal.
North Norfolk Digital, the station Alan works at, has been bought out by a corporate company who plan to change the name to “Shape.” They have no shame in completely selling out even if the cost results in the release of any employees that they find unnecessary. Alan thinks he’s safe, but other DJs such as the old-fashioned Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) aren’t so sure about their security. Pat asks Alan to vouch for him at a board meeting, but when Alan goes there he finds out they’re deciding to let either Alan or Pat goes. You can see where this is headed, and let’s just say no sacrifices are made.
Pat goes nuts after getting fired, coming back during a company party taking the whole station hostage. The police naively select Alan to act as a middleman between them and Pat during the hostage situation. Huge mistake. Only Alan could use this opportunity as a chance to increase his image and career, not realizing that he makes the entire situation that much worse.
The events the follow in the movie are handled with great comedic style, with plenty of laughs to be found through truly unique situations. There’s a great deal of stupid silly humor in a script that features shared credits with Coogan along with Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Armando Iannucci, and Peter Baynham. There’s a lot of jokes that don’t work, but when these guys connect, they hit it way out of the park. I found myself wanting not to laugh because some of the jokes are so ridiculous and outlandish, but sometimes you just can’t help it.
Some of the jokes may be lost on some people as it’s very heavy on the British humor, but most of the charm that Coogan and director Declan Lowney deliver is universally funny. It has many dumb moments, but honestly, Alan Partridge is a lot funnier than the stuff that most American comedies are delivering these days.
Give it a chance, and you’ll be chuckling in no time.
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