When Pirates Hit the Airwaves -- Pirate Radio Review

Over the last few years Hollywood has produced a number of films that I like to call "soundtracks to life". The teen generation recently had Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. Some people may not agree with me on this, but I feel that Adventureland was homage to classics of the 70s, and this weekend we get the wild adveture that Pirate Radio takes the audience on. It's a picture that brings laughs from start to finish.


Pirate Radio tells the story of a group of renegade radio DJs who filled the airwaves with rock and roll and their attempts to "fight the man" from a ship in the North Sea during the 1960s, using illegal radio to give the people of Britain such obscene sounds as The Beatles, The Who, The Grateful Dead, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and many many others. The only thing funner than the story itself is the soundtrack that will make any audience want to jam along to the tunes.

From the opening to the end credits, I had to remind myself that I was in a theater so I would not start singing along with the great music. The cast of character and their own individual stories breathes another level of story telling through the musical selections that you hear throughout the film. And with the star studded cast of Philip Semore Hoffman, Bill Nighly, Kenneth Branagh, and several other wonderfully casting actors who I would rather save the surprise for you to find out who they are playing this film with leave you smiling. So if you are a lover of music, lived through the 60s, or are just looking for a good time at the theater, I promise you this film is not to be missed. You may just feel the urge to stop at the music shop and pick up the soundtrack on the way home. I just wish that they journey could have lasted longer than it did, however I know that the dvd release will have tons of additional footage worth the wait and possibly a lengthier directors cut of the film. One can only hope.

So come join the pirates on the open seas of the radio airwaves and let the sounds of rock n' roll bring you some joy this weekend.