I just finished watching Pirate Radio, and in short, I loved it. I knew going into it that it would be something that I'd probably like. It's a movie about music, and I love movies about music, even decidedly bad ones. I've found myself captivated by biographies of bands that I don't care about at all. I actually LIKED the movie Rock Star with Mark "Don't Call Me Marky Mark" Wahlburg and Jennifer Aniston. I proudly own a copy of Rock and Roll High School on dvd. And the extended cut, super fan edition of Almost Famous. I watched Videodrome not because it's a David Cronenberg masterpiece, but because Debby Harry from Blondie is in it. I sat through Light of Day because Joan Jett is in it. So when I heard about Pirate Radio, a movie about a rogue group of disc jockeys who took to the open seas to avoid censorship, I was all for it. But like all movies that are actually worth seeing, I blinked, and it was out of theaters. I sneezed, and it was all but forgotten; buried by the latest Twilight installment. Too bad really, because it deserved far more acclaim than it actually garnered.
At it's heart, Pirate Radio is a pretty simple "us vs. them," rock 'n roll vs. uptight corporate squares, freedom vs. restriction story. And to be fair, that's one of the criticisms that I do have of the film; The conflict isn't very well established, so it does at times feel like shallow hippie rhetoric, with an ill-defined "man" trying to bring down the groovy group, just because their long hair and loud guitars loving lifestyle is anti-establishment. Where the film redeems itself is through the interesting characters, and the infectious camaraderie of the group. They steal each others dates (and wives, as it were), they break each others metaphorical balls, they hold childish and dangerous competitions for nothing more than foolish pride, but they're a family; a gloriously unwashed, dysfunctional family, brought together by little more than their love for music. And they're willing to fight for the things they love, including each other.
Pirate Radio really hits its stride within the last 30 minutes or so of the film. The threat of a government shut down is eminent from the first note played, and naturally, it comes to a head, leaving the group fighting to stay alive. As a fan of music, it's inspiring. To think that there were, and perhaps still are, those who love music so much that they'd risk it all just to have the freedom to play it. That there were once radio djs who actually had a passion for the music, and who could, and would, voice their opinions; their real, heart felt opinions about a song.
Arguably, that spirit is dead in commercial radio now. Even satellite radio, which prides itself on its open format and freedom of speech, uses a playlist. And one that's seemingly pre-approved by some agency or another to keep the riff-raff out. Which is why Vanilla Ice is featured on the 90's station, and The Melvins are not. But the spirit lives on at the grass roots level; music fans taking to the internet to spread their love of music to others. Podcasts and music blogs, created by the fans, for the fans. People willing to openly proclaim that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is NOT the greatest album ever created, and there WAS and still IS great music being recorded well after the Beatles called it quits, Elvis died on the crapper, and the Sex Pistols asked if the audience ever got the feeling like they were being cheated. Bands putting out their own albums and merchandise, free from the shackles of a corporate record label. Loyalists who still happily scour bins of used cds and vinyl, proudly displaying their Pogues t-shirts. People who know how and why Black Sabbath got their legendary guitar tone...
It probably does help to have a questionably unhealthy love for music and rock and roll in particular in order to really appreciate Pirate Radio. There are some big names attached to the film though, like Philip Seymour Hoffman essentially reprising his role in Almost Famous as a Lester Bangs type dj. This time he's "the Count" instead of Lester Bangs, but they're virtually one and the same. Pirate Radio also features Chris O'Dowd and Katherine Parkinson from the IT Crowd, and Kenneth Branagh of Harry Potter fame (He played Professor Lockhart). The ending, which I won't spoil, was touching, and it inspired me to throw on some classic rock vinyl and bash in the glory of music fandom.
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