Film Review – Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
2 min read
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa inspired what great british comedy films commonly accomplish. It paraded the viewer with an onslaught of cleverly scripted dialogue on the backdrop of a somewhat absurd set of circumstances.
Alan Partridge is a radically famous DJ, (played by the brilliant Steve Coogan) but is on his last legs of maintaining his job when his radio station is taken under siege and he is forced to work with police officers to defuse the situation, in which he uses to his advantage to become renowned around the world.
This serves as a catalyst to the truly demented but aloof character of Alan, and even though there are side casts that offer a bemusing distraction, he is the main star and his arrogance and selfishness to secure himself as a house hold name is what drives the comedy and story.
As the clock ticks forward his determination becomes obscenely heightened and with the quick flow of script and back and forth comedic juggling, the laughs thicken and for what you believe wouldn’t be able to out do itself in earlier conversational jokes, succeeds in disbelief in executing hilariousness with unexpected surprises, without ever becoming egotistical with the cards it has to play. Which sometimes, especially with american comedy, is its main deter. But Alpha Papa demonstrates admirably that with a clever script and convincing actors, the one liners, quick come-backs and tongue in cheek moments never tire if they are cleverly juxtaposed in the situation and never repeated.
At times, the only draw back is that if you aren’t continuously alert and involved, trying not to let your mind wander to look at your phone, or brain lapse for a few moments, you may miss sections; rightly so, because the characters hold no reigns in how fast they sometimes converse, which unfortunately does lead to missed joke opportunities because you are still reeling to absorb the one that came before it. With those with a distaste to quick rambling jokes and at times politically incorrect and racial stabs, it might not sit well. But in a time films such as Borat and Jackass can be held in such high regard by audiences as exceptionally hilarious, Alpha Papa would be considered a PG rating in terms of the views it addresses and pokes fun at. But over all, Alpha Papa is a breathe of fresh, witty, cringe worthy, adult air and hopefully most of you will take the opportunity to breathe in.
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