IMDb > The Boat That Rocked (2009)
The Boat That Rocked
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The Boat That Rocked (2009) More at IMDbPro »

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The Boat That Rocked (2009) -- A comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960s
The Boat That Rocked (2009) -- Clip: The law
The Boat That Rocked (2009) -- MattTrailer.com - Behind - Featurette - 7 of Heaven
The Boat That Rocked (2009) -- Interview: Kenneth Branagh "On his character"
The Boat That Rocked (2009) -- A comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960s

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   13,858 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 88% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Richard Curtis (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Pirate Radio on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 November 2009 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
1 Boat. 8 DJs. No Morals. more
Plot:
A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960's. full summary | full synopsis
NewsDesk:
(288 articles)
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Free Armored Screening in Baltimore on Dec. 3rd
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 19 November 2009, 12:20 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Good, honest fun. more (90 total)
US Showtimes:
The Bridge: Cinema de lux 11:25am | 2:05pm | 4:45 | 7:25 (personalize) more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Good Morning England (France)
Pirate Radio (USA) (new title)
Radio Rock Revolution (Germany)
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MPAA:
Rated R for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity.
Runtime:
116 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The ship used for filming was the MV Timor Challenger, and much filming, both day and night scenes, was done in Portland Harbour (venue for the 2012 Olympics sailing) near Weymouth. The red paint scheme was based on that of the MV Ross Revenge, which was the Radio Caroline pirate ship from 1983-91, and is nowadays maintained as a museum by volunteer enthusiasts, who assisted with several aspects of the film, including loaning many of the broadcasting and ship props. more
Goofs:
Plot holes: As the ship fills with water and the characters are waist deep - how could they continue playing records without getting electrocuted? more
Quotes:
Thick Kevin: I find alcohol rather sharpens my mind... more
Movie Connections:
Featured in 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Won't Get Fooled Again more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is there anyway to get the entire list of songs played in the movie?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
more
27 out of 43 people found the following comment useful.
Good, honest fun., 14 April 2009
8/10
Author: Baldrick44 from Brisbane, Australia

Richard Curtis' first 'non romantic comedy film' is really another romantic comedy film- it's just that the romantic bit gets swamped within 20 other sub-plots so you try and not notice.

The Boat That Rocked sees Carl ( Tom Surridge ) go aboard Radio Rock- a pirate radio station owned by Quentin ( Bill Nighy ) whose DJ's (Phillip Semour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Chris O' Dowd, Rhys Darby, etc. ) broadcast 24-hour rock and roll music to the UK. They are adored by the populace but hated by the government, including the Minister of Communications ( Kenneth Branagh ) and his chief subordinate ( Jack Davenport ) who aim to shut them down.

If that was the extent of the plot then it would probably be a 100 mins film. However the Boat That Rocked has so many little sub-plots- many seeming like excuses to put in another montage or cameo cast appearance that the time has ballooned out to 154mins and it does tell at times. Furthermore, while Richard Curtis is entitled to look back on these days with an air of nostalgia, he sometimes seems to get a little too weepy eyed with the story.

But these faults are more than made up for in the performances; all of which are good- and some are outstanding. Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Count is a lovable character who approaches everything with great gusto, while Chris O' Dowd's Simple Simon has a wonderful part in the middle section of the movie which brings a little bit of emotion to what is a pretty emotionally vacant movie. Nick Frost is cheeky as Dr Dave and finally Rhys Darby- fresh from Flight of the Conchords- simply shines in his role as the unpopular and daggy Angus who nonetheless gets arguably the best line in the whole movie.

Overall the Boat That Rocked is silly and entertaining fun. It does get overweight by a looong script, but the soundtrack and the cast are good enough to carry it through.

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Where are the Beatles? practicalhope
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