Posted on: December 23, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

There have been a slew of movies created this decade with the backdrop of the Iraq war, but most have failed miserably. It seems British director/writer Armando Iannucci may have finally found the right formula.

In the brilliantly witty In the Loop, Peter Capaldi (The Thick of It) plays a British government PR man who never met a swear word he couldn’t reel of to his subordinates. When a fellow government member lets slip in an interview that a U.S. invasion of the Middle East is “unforeseeable” a chain of events to save face and keep all war option open begins. The duo –toadies right behind them – jets off to Washington D.C. to help patch up the situation, but quickly become entangled in politics involving inept military advisors, backstabbing bureaucrats and a peace-loving general played expertly by James Gandolfini.

You have to go as far back as Wag the Dog to find political satire this sharp and witty in a comedy. Fantastic all the way through.

Rating: 9 out of 10

In the Loop/DVD/2009/MPI Home Video/106 mins.

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