"In the Loop": business as usual?

And for all The Thick of It fans this won't come as a surprise; the sublime BBC series always had a knack of nailing every modern political tick- the doublespeak, the venom, the bullying, the ineptitude- that we all know goes on behind (and in front) of the cameras. In the Loop picks up and expands where the TV series left off- Peter Capladi reprises his role as the splenetic Tucker, spin-doctor-in-chief and source of some of the most creative swearing that I have ever seen on screen. Here the unfortunate victim of his wrath is chiefly Forster, whose on-air goof concerning an unnamed conflict in the Middle East is the excuse for his being sent on a "fact-finding mission" to Washington DC. Cue The Thick of It hits the US of A. My top tip is, though, to not go along for the plot- which I found incredibly confusing and overlong- and rather to go along for the ride: essentially a series of amusing vignettes poking fun at the stupidity, the venality of politicians and their advisors. And for the amazing insults. You will laugh a lot.

But maybe its apparent prescience is an indication that for all the laughs the film does lack a certain bite. It shows us- almost ad nauseam- what we already think we know and what we already hate, all the things about the political system that make us sigh, turn off the news and then not bother to vote come election time. I wanted it to go further; to either show me some alternative (West Wing anyone?) or to just be angrier about a system which, if it is as the film portrays, subverts democracy and yet has the power to start wars. Yes, it's funny but it's lazy too and this makes the film, in its own way, as complacent as the politicians that it mocks. In the Loop may be the funniest British film I've seen in ages but here I just don't think that's enough.