Back in the 80s, or the olden days as my youngest likes to say, we would listen to Radio Jackie. We had plenty of options on the dial but that station played a wider variety of music plus the thought of something mildly illicit was definitely attractive. Twenty years before this pirate radio stations started appearing during the rock and roll era. The British establishment had decreed that the airwaves should not be polluted and censorship ensued. Not everyone was in agreement. In this movie set in the late 60s, a group of DJs anchor a ship in the North Sea just outside British waters and broadcast the latest and greatest in music. Just about every face in this movie is recognizable and the soundtrack is fabulous! The story is a little thin, padded with lots of fruity language and what is called sexual content but really, think about the timing people – sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Back on dry land Kenneth Branagh plays the minister who is single-mindedly focused on destroying the pirate radio station. He is uptight and even sports an almost Hitler like moustache. As a dichotomy all those around him, including his own people, are enjoying the music. Overall this is a fun movie – are your really going to be expecting deep with a title like that anyway. Exactly. Branagh is brilliant as is Philip Seymour Hoffman – but that is something you do expect. A good laugh, great music but not one for the kids.