Brit flick ‘In the Loop’ entertains with crude, dry humor

Daily Nebraskan

The British know funny.

 

Home to the original "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and "The Office" television programs, the folk across the pond have been making equally dry-humored audiences laugh for years.

 

The latest Brit import to hit stateside is "In the Loop," a — as the title suggests — loopy, fast-paced film following the hilariously fragile political relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. amid the background of impending war.

 

"In the Loop" wastes no time in setting up conflict. At the beginning of the film, a minute verbal slip-up on behalf of Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), the British minister of International Development, ignites a raging wildfire of hilarity that just cannot be put out.

 

Simon's nonexistent knack for words plagues his press officer, Malcom Tucker (Peter Capaldi), who spews brilliantly written obscenities in such a rapid manner he could rival Old Faithful. He steals virtually every scene with his soiled mouth and Scottish insensitivity, especially toward the lowly, almost unbearably pathetic Simon.

 

Although Malcom seems to carry parts of the film on his own, "In the Loop" succeeds as a whole because of the cast's stellar execution of some downright offensive — but nonetheless uproarious — writing. Unfortunately, a majority of the more memorable one-liners cannot be put into print.
 

However, not all of the humor is crude and vulgar.
 

It's mainly just crude.
 

For example, when asked to elaborate about his stance on the war, Simon explains it's "not inevitable, but evitable" to "climb the mountain of conflict." Upon hearing this metaphorical interpretation of war, Malcom scolds Simon and calls him a "Nazi Julie Andrews." Simon later retaliates and says that he is "standing (his) ground," but could be "on the verge" of not "standing (his) ground."

 

Endless wittiness aside, "In the Loop" and its sophisticated satirical nature are a refreshing break from the predictability of comedies currently dominating the box office.
 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that director Armando Iannucci was influenced by the American-British push to invade Iraq and all of the less-than-tangible evidence that went into the Iraqi war campaign.
 

Despite the obvious real-world parallels, no heads of state or actual countries are mentioned in the film. Instead, the concept of going to war is depicted as nothing more than a necessity to keep all of the politicians from killing one another or from collapsing into sheer boredom.
 

Thus, the moral of the story seems to be that politicians don't do anything but meddle and get themselves into unnecessary messes — but we all knew that, right?
 

What we might not have known is how painfully amusing such meddling can be to watch unfold. With a shaky camera and a mixture of up-close — almost claustrophobia-inducing — and long-distance shots, "In the Loop" utilizes documentary-like cinematography popularized by shows such as "Friday Night Lights" and "The Office."

This shooting approach gives the film an air of reality that makes its underlying political baggage a little less daunting to swallow.

 

While "In the Loop" does not follow a traditional plot trajectory of rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, its unceasing chaos is thoroughly enjoyable without being exhausting.
 

With a two-week run at the Ross ending Sept. 24, "In the Loop" is a definite must-see, especially for sarcastic individuals who may or may not wish they had a British accent and who want to check out an evitable good movie … inevitably.

 

mekitarivas@dailynebraskan.com