Pirate Radio

Once titled "The Boat That Rocked," Pirate Radio" is a victim of over-editing for a loosey-goose '60s rock 'n' roll period piece set around a pirate radio station on board a ship large enough to have a basketball half-court on deck. Philip Seymour Hoffman coolly plays the Count, an American DJ with a heart of gold who enters into a cold war of sorts with British DJ rival Gavin whose cruel-to-be-kind personality proves less toothy than the Count imagines. Intended as a celebration of a more innocent yet swinging time when the music of The Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix, and The Kinks promised a world of endless reverie, "Pirate Radio" is missing enough character reference points--ostensibly left on the cutting room floor--to allow the audience to share in the random festivities of the ship's fun-loving inhabitants. Still, there's some great music and a the movie sustains a groovy vibe that might have you imitating Bill Nighy's British accent as the boat's undemanding owner Quentin.  

Rated R. 116 mins. (B-) (Three Stars)