"In the Loop" - REVIEW

If there was an award for films with the most funny lines per minute, "In the Loop" Armando Iannucci's satire about the lead up to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, would have trouble finding any competition. A quick moving, razor sharp comedy that probably demands multiple viewings just to catch all of the stellar jokes, insults, and profanities, "In the Loop" is hands down the comedy of the year (well...so far).

It all starts with a statement. British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) has just said that he thinks war is unforeseeable, and that's not what some folks in the UK and the US want to hear. While trying to damage control, Simon is berated by his superior Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi, getting some of the best and nastiest lines) while bonding with Toby (Chris Addison), his new press agent. After accidentally getting Simon into a meeting where he is nothing more than "room meat", the pair head off to Washington as Senator Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy) and her assisstant Liza (Anna Chlumsky) try to force their way into a "war committee" which they want to stop at all costs (Liza has written a paper that would hurt the committee's case greatly, and it's becoming the talk of the office). As Foster tries to intervene, he must deal with politics on both sides of the Atlantic, as Malcolm, Karen, General Miller (James Gandolfini), and Linton Barwick (David Rasche, who had a small but pivotal role in "Burn After Reading") all push their own agendas trying to start or prevent a war.

Most films are built on "scenes", and that's where "In the Loop" feels so different. Of course, there are scenes and a narrative, there has to be for the whole thing to work, but as a whole the film is carried along more by lines and laughs than by events. So many, that for every one you laugh at, you risk missing two or three, as they usually come in rapid succession. The insults and namecalling are fantastic (John and Yoko, Woman from the Crying Game, Little Boy from the Shining) but even those pale in comparison to the swearing that characters use to tear into each other. And yet in all of the verbal carnage, Iannucci and crew never lose sight of their satiric goals. Though people swear and swear a lot, and though a good portion of it was apparently improvised or written-on-the-go, "Loop" never resorts to dropping profanity just for the sake of having profanity (Judd Apatow and friends, please pay attention). And then there are the characters.

In large ensemble pieces it's easy to forget characters and remeber jokes, particularly here, where everyone is wearing business suits, and again the film stands out. Faring best is Capaldi as the always enraged Malcolm, along with Kennedy, Rasche, Addison, Gandolfini, and Hollander, playing the deer-in-the-headlights role. It's a superbly realized ensemble where everyone gets a chance to shine. But there's another side to "In the Loop", a side that many have neglected to address, and that's the horror aspect of the film. No, there aren't any zombies running around eating brains...there's something scarier. As much as the film is a satire, and satire requires some exaggeration, there are times when it's hard to dismiss the notion that perhaps the events in the film were in any way similar to way reality played up to the decision to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Let's all just take a breath, be thankful that this wasn't a documentary, and go back to enjoying the laughs (or if you haven't seen it, see it as soon as you can and join in the howling chorus...it's a fun club to be a part of).

Grade: A-