Define irony: seeing Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa just two days before heading into town to see the world-famous Ladyboys Of Bangkok (I am not joking, this is Edinburgh Fringe Festival time). Anyone not knowing just why that should be such an amusing coincidence should head off now to soak up the greatness of the comedy show entitled I’m Alan Partridge immediately.
The character of Alan Partridge really needs no introduction, but I’ll give him one anyway. He’s a TV and radio personality with an ego much bigger than his talent, gifted with the ability of being able to say the most awkward things possible at just about the worst time. He’s selfish, arrogant and always very comfortable when trying to act manly in the company of other men. He’s also hilarious and the best comic creation of the last few decades. Played by Steve Coogan, Partridge has appeared on radio and TV for a number of years now and this, at last, is his big screen debut.
It was talked about for years. An Alan Partridge movie. One of those projects mentioned so often that fans stopped getting their hopes up whenever they heard another rumour. Even if everything came together, who’s to say just how the character would cope with the transition to cinema. Thankfully, there’s nothing to fear now that we finally have a feature vehicle for the voice of Radio Norwich (AKA one of many voices of Radio Norwich).
The plot is all about a radio station being taken over. Yes, it’s North Norfolk Digital, where Alan works. Desperate to keep his own job, Alan engineers the sacking of a colleague named Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney). It’s not long until the radio station is taken over again, though this time it’s not by men in suits looking to rebrand the place and make money. It’s by Pat. And he has a gun. Pat will only talk to the police through Alan, a situation that starts off as an intense one and soon turns into something that Alan realises could make his entire career. His face is all over the news, his negotiating skills allow him to get close to hostages, including his new boss (Nigel Lindsay) and a woman named Angela (Monica Dolan), and when he is allowed to stand by the doors of the radio station to speak to the armed police outside he finds himself working the crowd like the professional he is/can be. As he gets more and more comfortable with the situation, things look more likely to end badly.
Directed by Declan Lowney, and written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons, there are two things to bear in mind about Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. First of all, it’s absolutely in line with previous Partridge misadventures and gets a lot of the laughs spot on. In fact, the BIG laughs made me laugh harder than any other comedy I can think of in recent years. Second, however, is the fact that this still doesn’t ever feel like a great movie. It’s tough to translate small screen entertainment to the big screen, this movie succeeds better than most but still feels a bit too low-key to really upsell the few movie moments (one sequence involving some rare heroics from Alan may make you wish, as I did, that those involved had pushed things further into action territory).
The cast are all great. Coogan can play Partridge in his sleep at this point, but never does. He gives a flawless, fearless performance and is always worth watching, even when the focus of the scene is elsewhere. Colm Meaney is great as the aggrieved Pat, both mean and manic while also being vulnerable and rightly distraught. He’s past his best, admittedly, but it’s hard to disagree with a lot of his viewpoint as he rages against the commodification and rebranding of his values. The fact that he’s unaware of Alan’s betrayal lends every moment they share an added layer of sadness and unease. Tim Key is very good as Simon, Alan’s sidekick who finds himself with a gun pointed at his head for most of the runtime, and it was wonderful to see that both Felicity Montagu and Simon Greenall weren’t overlooked, as both Lynn and Michael, respectively. Phil Cornwell returns as Dave Clifton, a man who has been through some tough times, while the aforementioned Lindsay and Dolan join the likes of Sean Pertwee and Anna Maxwell Martin as supporting players brilliantly playing things straight around Coogan’s antics.
It’s hard to sit down and decide on a final rating for Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. It’s the best slice of Partridge that we’ve had in years, but it still stumbles as a movie, thanks to the many times it doesn’t feel very much like a movie. The central character alone gets a 10/10 from me, but the lack of cinematic . . . . . . expansion to his universe drags things down a few points. Of course, such minor criticisms are easy to forget as I smile and think of an opening title sequence that shows the world just how much Mr. Partridge enjoys the song, “Cuddly Toy”, by Roachford.
Wow, I even managed to get through that whole review without writing: “Aha!”
DIRECTOR: DECLAN LOWNEY
WRITER: PETER BAYNHAM, STEVE COOGAN, NEIL GIBBONS, ROB GIBBONS, ARMANDO IANNUCCI
STARS: STEVE COOGAN, COLM MEANEY, TIM KEY, FELICITY MONTAGU, SIMON GREENALL, NIGEL LINDSAY, MONICA DOLAN, PHIL CORNWELL, SEAN PERTWEE, ANNA MAXWELL MARTIN
RUNTIME: 90 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: UK
Film Rating: 
