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Making his big screen debut is radio DJ Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan), situated in (where else?) his hometown of Norwich. The film plunges us into the action early on as Alan learns that his station, North Norfolk Digital, is about to be taken over by corporation giant Gordale Media. Alan manages to avoid losing his job – in a hilarious scene in which he vouches for fellow DJ Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) to be dismissed instead and the Irishman takes the news badly.
A deranged Pat storms into the building armed with a shotgun and takes a group of people hostage. Realising his predicament, Alan flees the scene but is then requested by police to work as a point man between them and Pat. The hapless ex-TV personality must try to persuade his former colleague to give up the siege knowing that other people’s lives are at risk.
Only a buffoonish character like Alan Partridge could find himself caught up in a story involving madmen, shotguns and hostages. While it may sound far-fetched to some, there is no doubt that Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan had some bizarre ideas for the big-screen and it actually ends up working very well.
The pair manage to incorporate nods to previous heist films like Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Network (1976) particularly the latter’s case with its references to media corporations taking over and staff members rebelling against the system.
However, amongst the action, it is the laughs which are the key factor and it’s great to see our favourite radio DJ become the latest comedy individual to make a successful transition to film (which previously worked out well for other British sitcoms like The Thick of It and The Inbetweeners).
As was the case in the television series, the film relies on dark humour and cringe-worthy exchanges to make us laugh even when some of the jokes get a tad controversial e.g. Pat talking about his wife being buried at sea which triggers a classic Alan response: “Like Bin-Laden?” All the classic Alanisms are there too – his smug attitude proving once again that ‘pride comes before a fall’ as he finds himself losing his trousers in the most outrageously funny scene in the film.
It’s such a ruddy relief to see Coogan back to his hilarious best as the film allows him to show off the multi-layered personalities that Alan has become iconic for. Yet, at the same time, you sense that he is not as vindictive and bitter as he was in the classic sitcom which can be put down to the way Coogan has matured the character especially in the recent spin-off series, Mid-Morning Matters.
A major example of this comes in his lovely sub-plot with colleague and potential love-interest Angela (Monica Dolan) as the pair flirt saucily in a disabled toilet. However he still likes to treat certain people badly, particularly his long-suffering P.A Lynn who bears the brunt of abuse yet finally stands up to Alan in one of the film’s more touching scenes between the pair.
On the subject of Lynn, it’s nice to see her and a few other classic Partridge characters show their faces including the dim-witted Michael (Simon ‘Compare the Meerkat’ Greenall) and Alan’s former DJ rival Dave Clifton (Phil Cornwell). New to the world of AP is the experienced Irish actor Colm Meaney as he puts empathy into his role as the desperate has-been Pat but never goes too far in making him an over-the-top madman.
On the negative side, non-Partridge fans may struggle to get the film’s humour which is what made the sitcom a cult classic. Some jokes fall a little flat and parts of the dialogue may be far too random for conventional comedy fans.
The film’s actual siege also lacks a severe amount of tension which can be put down to the satirical narrative and you never really sense anything really bad will happen. Overall, Alpha Papa is ‘lovely stuff’ and Norwich’s favourite son makes a cracking big-screen debut in this witty and slapstick outing.
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