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In the Loop
The humorous side of war
Reviewed by Erin Shelley
Published on 02/04/2010
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A-
Unrated
Directed by Armando Iannucci
Starring Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Mimi Kennedy, Anna Chlumsky, Chris Addison, James Gandolfini and David Rasche
British comedy flies at such a different height than most American comedies, especially when it comes to satire. We get a great example of the kind of humor that defies our normal expectations when watching “In the Loop.” In this movie about politicians and their flunkies dealing with a run-up to a war, we get to watch fools, bastards, do-gooders, brown-nosers and head honchos trying to find out what the heck is going on.
We begin with a British department head, Simon Foster, who makes the mistake of mentioning in an interview that going to war in the Mideast would be “unforeseen.
” Played by the delightful Tom Hollander, we soon discover that he shouldn’t have said that. His boss, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), certainly lets him know that Simon messed up in less than polite terms. Meanwhile, a manager in the American diplomatic corps, played by Mimi Kennedy, is doing her best to stop the rush to war. She has the help of Lt. Gen. George Miller (James Gandolfini), a man who detests when politicians enjoy going to war.
The action starts out slow and the humor is mild, but the plot becomes crazier and sillier. The fun in this movie is that no one is really the hero. With a large cast of characters, none of them playing the heroic protagonist, we can see their mistakes as they scheme for more power or for more information to stop the powerful.
The cast is amazing, creating characters who stumble through their actions. There is Tom Hollander’s pleasantly befuddled elected official and Mimi Kennedy as a rather selfish and self-righteous diplomat. Their subordinates, Toby (Chris Addison) and Liza (Anna Chlumsky), have to deal with their sometimes inept bosses, yet neither of them have expertise to handle the machinations of higher ups. In Liza’s case, she is also stuck with one creepy, brown-nosing co-worker (Zach Woods) who waits for the day when he can play a game of squash with department head Linton Bartwick (David Rasche), and even carries a squash racket around in his backpack just in case.
Peter Capaldi as the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker steals the show. Reprising a role played on British television, Capaldi starts out as the main villain, but by the end of the film, you can’t help but cheer him on. A scene with him and James Gandolfini is a delight as the two try to out macho each other.
“In the Loop” is a sad film in one respect. You just know that the antics of these idiots probably mimic the behavior of the people who got us into Iraq. Luckily, that ridiculous behavior makes for a funny film.
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