Early in my time at my last newspaper, I sat down for an interview with two local officials, one of who had a legendarily foul mouth.
I'd been warned about the guy ahead of time, but figured, "Hey, I've worked in a factory, and in restaurant kitchens. I've heard everything there is to hear."
That was the first -- and only -- time the phrase "goat-fucking" came up in an interview. I don't even remember what the story was about, but I remember that moment. The interview was on my mind yesterday as I watched the British comedy In the Loop. It's about foul-mouthed political attack dog, an in-over-his-head government minister and the minister's press secretary, and the way the three men get caught up in the American debate over invading an unnamed Middle Eastern country.
It's a very funny movie, but kind of an unpleasant one, filled with a lot of clever characters saying clever -- and often mean -- things to each other. It's hard to root for any of them, so maybe the best bet is -- as one reviewer suggested -- to close your eyes and let it work as a radio play. The dialogue is that good.
The characters, both British and American, are at each other's throats thanks to Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), a British cabinet minister who gives an interview claiming that war in the Middle East is "unforseeable." This goes against the party line, and Foster only makes things worse in a follow-up news conference:
"For the plane in the fog, the mountain is unforeseeable, but then it is suddenly very real, and inevitable."
As reporters start asking who the mountain represents in the metaphor, Foster adds something about how it's sometimes necessary to "climb the mountain of conflict," a phrase that's immediately snatched up as the bumper-sticker slogan for the pro-war faction in Washington.
Foster and his press secretary Toby (Chris Addison) are sent to D.C. by the prime minister to act on his behalf, although it becomes clear they're fairly clueless, caught up in a behind-the-scenes battle between pro and anti-war state department officials. Among the anti-war crowd is a general played by James Gandolfini, the closest thing the movie has to a hero. He's great, by the way, shedding Tony Soprano's New Jersey accent but none of the menace or gravitas.
In the middle of all this is Malcolm, the prime minister's political fixer (the attack dog I mentioned earlier), played by Peter Capaldi, who just steals the movie. His Malcolm is a volcano of irritability, extremely creative vulgarity and pop-culture-themed insults.
(Various characters are referred to as "Ron Weasely," "the baby from Eraserhead" and "the lady from the Crying Game.")
Capaldi introduced this character on a British sitcom called The Thick Of It, which dealt with a lot of the same themes as here (politicians saying stupid things in public), but on a smaller scale. The show was created by Armondo Ianucci, who directed In the Loop. When I watched it on BBC America years ago, Malcom's epic profanity was bleeped out, which, in a way, made it funnier.
Tom Coombe
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