In the Loop (2009, R)

 

I’m putting In the Loop here since, chronologically, this is when it came out in relation to The Thick of It.  However, that’s not to say that it’s a continuation of the episodes that come before it or a preface to the episodes that follow it.  In the Loop very much tells its own story on its own scale.  In fact, most of the Thick of It actors who appear in it play different characters, and the characters who do carry over are extreme enough versions of themselves that the film can hardly be said to take place in the same universe as the show.

 

Since I first saw In the Loop five years ago and only watched The Thick of It recently, I didn’t notice this difference until I saw the film again.  It’s jarring to see the same familiar faces playing different characters with similar jobs – “Wait, Toby?  What happened to Ollie?”  I’m not entirely sure why they did that.  Perhaps because In the Loop operates on a much more international level, crossing the Atlantic more than once, and DoSAC was nowhere near important enough to be involved in its goings-on?  At any rate, it gives the film the effect that, while there’s only one Malcolm and one Jamie, every department has “an Ollie,” “a Terri,” and “a Glenn.”  Seen one, seen ‘em all.

 

The doomed cabinet minister forever eating his words, though, isn’t a doppelganger for Hugh.  Simon Foster, played by Tom Hollander, is a different sort of gutless sad sack, and while he makes the same sort of mistakes that Hugh does, his have much further-reaching consequences.  The film kicks off when, in an interview, Simon states that war in the Middle East is “unforeseeable.”  After having several new ones ripped for not toeing the party lines, Simon over-corrects and finds himself the unwitting spokesman of a pro-war movement.  Ham-fisted slips of the tongue aren’t new for The Thick of It, but this is the first time that anyone’s life is at stake over it.

 

Malcolm is recognizably Malcolm, of course – there’s the swearing, the threats of violence, and the patented Malcolm Tucker Run in two different countries.  Still, the Malcolm here bears some noticeable differences to the Malcolm in the show.  Malcolm’s underlying belief in his party seems to be absent.  When he does less than savory things in this film, there’s no sense that he views them as necessary for the sake of the party.  You get the idea that he literally doesn’t care whether there’s a war or not, and only does the things he does because the PM told him to, and maybe to posture to the Americans and show them what he’s capable of.

 

Still, it’s a great, hilarious film (Malcolm has some tremendous speeches, and there’s a fantastic sequence of Jamie in full mad-dog-off-the-leash mode.)  In a way, it might be better to see it before The Thick of It.  It’s a good way to introduce you to the world that the show deals with, but it’s more polished and self-contained than the show, whose loose, improv style can take a little getting used to.  By watching In the Loop first, you can get hooked by Malcolm and The Thick of It’s brand of humor, so you’re ready to dig into the show.

 

Same rules apply, though:  don’t watch In the Loop unless you’re okay with massive levels of swearing.