In the Loop (2009)

This is supposed to be a spin-off of the 'thick of it'. It isn't. Don't get me wrong, I love the thick of it, it's one of my favourite comedies. But this just, well, sucked. This is for a number of reasons 1. They changed the names of most of the characters Most of us who watched the Thick of it recognised people such as James Smith as Glenn or Chris Addison as Olly, not 'Michael' and 'Tobey' 2. The plot was terrible The entire story took a way too 'action film-like' tone, and doesn't even take place in DoSAC for God's sake! I also don't see involving the entire 'Anglo-American' side to it was particularly good either. I see that Iannuci is trying to make a link between his two political satires -The thick of it and 'Veep'. But it just didn't work 3. It focused to much on the American side of things Don't get me wrong, I don't hate America the way I seem to, but if this is a supposed spin-of of 'The thick of it', then surely it would've focused on the British rather than the American perspective 4. there are certain plot holes Little things such as the fact that Emma is shown as being in a relationship with Tobey, despite being in a relationship (if you can call it that) with Olly at this point in the 'Thick of it', and the way that Malcolm Tucker is shown to try and get the UN assembly to vote in favour of war - this doesn't seem a very Malcolm Tucker thing to do. he usually wants to do the least controversial, non-mess up decision

To clear up some confusion this is essentially a spin-off of 'The Thick Of It' written and directed by the same people, with the same actors and some of the same characters. This is not a film of the show, it is using the show as a jumping off point through which to sharply and brilliantly satirize the political ineptitude which caused the Iraq War. In my opinion is it is just as funny as the original show, even at it's best.

Version I saw: UK DVD releaseActors: 7/10Plot/script: 8/10Photography/visual style: 6/10Music/score: 5/10Overall: 7/10In the Loop may be Armando Iannucci's first film as a director, but it is built on over 20 years of experience in caustic satire. He began working with the likes of Chris Morris, Charlie Brooker, Steve Coogan and Stewart Lee in the early 90s on TV series The Day Today and Brasseye. More recently, his primary work has been on TV's The Thick Of It. They may deny it, but In the Loop is basically a movie spin-off of this series.Drawn from The Thick Of It are foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), one of the more vibrant creations of British television in the last decade, and young speech-writer Toby Wright, played by Chris Addison. They journey to America with new character MP Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), after he accidentally aligns himself with one side in the covert campaigns to initiate a war with a Middle Eastern country. It's a fairly naked parody of the build-up to the 2003 War in Iraq.The underlying theme is about the difference between the confident and the hesitant. While those with the assertiveness and charisma to press forward their plans control major world events, the rest of us are left to fight over the scraps. Many characters in In the Loop have a great line in dry wit, until they are put under pressure or scrutiny, at which point their intelligence hilariously collapses.A great cast of remarkably versatile actors like Hollander, Capaldi and the late lamented James Gandolfini deliver the lines brilliantly, be they sharply witty or bumblingly hilarious. The script rightly won an Oscar nomination for Iannucci, regular The Thick Of It contributors Simon Blackwell and Tony Roche, and co-creator of UK TV's Peep Show, Jesse Armstrong.Some of the events and characters depicted are just possibly a little too close to reality to satisfy me completely of the creativity on show, but that is not the point. The focus is on the small people caught in big events, and the paralysing effect of blind panic on the reserved British psyche. That and Malcolm Tucker's genius for foul language...

Aside from the fact that for reasons of continuity/plausibility several of the supporting characters from DoSAC had to be given slightly altered identities so they could play out a scenario on the international stage, this is very much part and parcel of the Thick Of It canon and of an equal level of excellence. There's an added dimension of gravity and sadness to it as rather than the usual DoSAC trivia the usual gang of idiots is dealing with the circumstances leading up to the Blair administration's facilitating the Bush administration's phony rationale for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and that act of treachery is personified by the reckless, bumbling actions of Toby/Ollie and the scheming Malcolm Tucker, who as never before or after is shown as the hustling Machiavellian pawn of more powerful players. It's an important element in the continuity of the TV series as it explains why Ollie and Malcolm get such a savage comeuppance in the ensuing fourth series.