There was a little show on television a few years back called "Arrested Development" that you may have heard of or may have watched. There are a couple of reasons why I love this show: (1) It had characters who were never compromised and (2) the show possessed a razor edge wit that had jokes flying at a high rate. In my eyes this is the epitome of great comedy, and I must say that such a comedy doesn't come along often. Thankfully for me, "In the Loop" is that kind of comedy; a comedy that is brash, bold, and beyond witty. It's a comedy that has laughs that last past their initial punch line. The film, although quite funny, also has some sharp and dark satire as it looks at how a country (i.e. the United States and Britain) behaves in a political arena in order to achieve what they want.
This particular aspect of the film is set up almost in the same vain as when the United States entered the Iraq War in 2003. Through communication with Britain's government, the head honchos from the United States are pressing an invasion in to a Middle Eastern country. Although it's not explicitly stated and a time period isn't given, we can assume the film is a farce on the Iraq War. The hijinx begins with a slip of the tongue heard on British radio from Britain's Minister for International Development Simon Foster ( a terrific Tom Hollander), who when asked about a potential war in the Middle East, accidentally says a war is 'unforeseeable'. On a local scale, Simon gets a ribbing from Britain's Prime Minister's right hand man, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), but on a more international stage, Simon's words gather the attention of an international media who hound him everywhere he goes to see if he has any knowledge about a pressing war in the Middle East. Presumably to no one's surprise, Simon actually knows nothing about a pending war, but that doesn't stop a United States government official who sees an opportunity in Simon as a means to start a war. Soon Simon is asked to come to the United States, with his rookie aide Toby (Chris Addison) by his side, to throw his hat in the "war" arena. Yet, Simon finds himself pulled in opposite directions as the pro-war front and anti-war fronts try to use him as their goats, while the British government tries to make him 'straddle the line'.
The plot becomes a little convoluted at times, but it continuously rotates on rather simple ideas and succeeds because its characters, even though there are a lot of them, are well defined and rarely go off point. Whether it's a culture clash between the governments of the United States and Britain, or the political tug of war that occurs between two political agendas, "In the Loop" is always delivering a tongue lashing to the political machine we live amongst. A lot of credit goes to the screenplay, which boasts some terrific turns, but most of the hilarity is in the hands of the actors who deliver their jokes and banter with ease. Each scene is constructed with rapid fire dialogue that peppers every moment with balls and energy. Some of the dialogue may be hard to hear or may need to be watched again in order to understand their full gravity, but the dialogue is great regardless of such diversions. If anything, it adds a level of replay value to the film. Much like the dialogue,the cast as a whole is great, but the one actor who truly steals every scene is Peter Capaldi, who plays the foul mouthed Malcolm Tucker, a strategist for Britain's Prime Minister. Everything Capaldi says is morally inapprehensible, but it's hilarious all the same. In many respects he's the voice of reason amongst the meek, the selfish,and the dumb that fill our governments.
Another aspect I love about this film is its ability to keep a balanced perspective throughout. It doesn't hate upon the war mongering politicians anymore than it does the passive-aggressive anti-war supporters. It doesn't provide one note answers to the problems the it mocks. It's simply in the moment, trying to capture, at least from a comical perspective, the seedy inner workings of politics and the abuse of media from both sides. Is it essential for a movie like this to be balanced? Not particularly, but the film is all the better for it if it can find a way to skew towards the middle versus to either side. After all, a good satire is one that can lambast both sides of the argument without being too pretentious in its efforts. I'd say "In the Loop" reaches this level of greatness and much like my beloved "Arrested Development", "In the Loop" is a film that consistently delivers the laughs with ferocity. That's all I can ask for in a comedy.
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