The Boat That Rocked

4.00
    The Boat That Rocked
    2009

    Synopsis

    An ensemble comedy, where the romance is between the young people of the 60s, and pop music. It's about a band of DJs that captivate Britain, playing the music that defines a generation and standing up to a government that wanted control of popular culture via the British Broadcasting Corporation. Loosely based on the events in Britain in the 60's when the Labour government of Harold Wilson, wanted to bring the pirate radio stations under control, enough to see the passage of the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act on 15 August 1967. Also known as "Pirate Radio".

    Your Movie Library

    Cast

    • Tom SturridgeCarl
    • Philip Seymour HoffmanThe Count
    • Rhys IfansGavin
    • Bill NighyQuentin
    • Emma ThompsonCharlotte
    • Nick FrostDave
    • Kenneth BranaghDormandy
    • January JonesEleonore
    • Gemma ArtertonDesiree
    • Jack DavenportTwatt

    Recommendations

    • 75

      ReelViews

      The result, although uneven, is generally enjoyable, especially for those who attend with the right mindset. Character and narrative are secondary concerns for a movie primarily driven to provide a Valentine to '60s rock-and-roll.
    • 75

      Chicago Sun-Times

      Richard Curtis is good at handling large casts, establishing all the characters and keeping them alive.
    • 67

      Entertainment Weekly

      Pirate Radio is, in the end, about as rock-revolutionary as a tea break. But the choppy production floats on a great soundtrack (the real pirates are the Rolling Stones) and is buoyed by an inviting cast.
    • 63

      St. Louis Post-Dispatch

      It's a calculated crowd-pleaser that skims over the surface of the era like a cruise-ship production of "American Graffiti."
    • 60

      Empire

      A mix-tape of successes and failures, perhaps too light for its subject, but a silly, easy watch.
    • 60

      The Hollywood Reporter

      The real pirate radio ships, whose days ended in 1967, wound up being towed away for salvage but the film avoids that fate -- like the best rock songs -- with a rousing finish and a pleasing climax.
    • 60

      Time Out

      Giggles, not belly laughs, come frequently, and it’ll help if viewers love U.K. comics.
    • 50

      Variety

      Picture generally stays afloat on the strength of its characters but sometimes threatens to sink under its overlong running time and vignettish structure.

    Loved by

    Seen by