Lost in Translation

In the Loop

Day 11

Film 10

I love satire. It is my favorite genre, although it is almost impossible to get right. It makes the search for a good piece of satire exciting and difficult. I have been looking forward to seeing In the Loop for this reason because it seemed like it would be a great biting look at both British and American politics.

The biggest problem I had with In the Loop was that it ran on hit and miss gags. This is fueled by two small errors. the first is there are parts where I could not understand a word they said. The second is that the peaks in the story are based more on the amazing bits of hilarity and not the drama. It creates an indirect relationship between humor and tension. These problems are small and can easily be forgiven.

Why? Because In the Loop is hilarious! Beyond the usual ironies that are woven into the plot and dialogue, the humor is everywhere. The characters interact perfectly. They are believable people who seem to be caught in an outlandish, but far too true to not laugh, story. It does not pander to low blow jokes, but instead uses the humor them to criticize a million different ideas. It is an excellent example of satire.

I am going to avoid the critical analysis of this film, because I did not quite get it all. That and I have two more films to do this morning.

Before I go into the bottom line I will say this (because I could not find a reasonable place to put it anywhere else in the brief review): In the Loop takes a lot of inspiration from The Office and could not happen without The Office.

The bottom line:

I would hesitantly recommend this film to everyone. It is not a film for everyone, but I like to think it is. This is not a film for the kids or people who cower in fear at profanity, but it should be seen.