In the Loop (2009)

The US President and UK Prime Minister fancy a war. But not everyone agrees that war is a good thing. The US General Miller doesn't think so and neither does the British Secretary of State ... See full summary »

Director:

Armando Iannucci

Writers:

Jesse Armstrong (screenplay), Simon Blackwell (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Capaldi, Harry Hadden-Paton, Tom Hollander

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Capaldi	...	Malcolm Tucker
Harry Hadden-Paton	...	Civil Servant
Samantha Harrington	...	Malcolm's Secretary
Gina McKee	...	Judy Molloy
Tom Hollander	...	Simon Foster
Olivia Poulet	...	Suzy
Chris Addison	...	Toby Wright
James Smith	...	Michael Rodgers
Zach Woods	...	Chad
Mimi Kennedy	...	Karen Clark
Anna Chlumsky	...	Liza Weld
Enzo Cilenti	...	Bob Adriano
Lucinda Raikes	...	Reporter
James Doherty	...	Reporter
David Rasche	...	Linton Barwick

Storyline

The US President and UK Prime Minister fancy a war. But not everyone agrees that war is a good thing. The US General Miller doesn't think so and neither does the British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster. But, after Simon accidentally backs military action on TV, he suddenly has a lot of friends in Washington, DC. If Simon can get in with the right DC people, if his entourage of one can sleep with the right intern, and if they can both stop the Prime Minister's chief spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker rigging the vote at the UN, they can halt the war. If they don't... well, they can always sack their Director of Communications Judy, who they never liked anyway and who's back home dealing with voters with blocked drains and a man who's angry about a collapsing wall.

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Plot Keywords:

vote | committee | middle east | washington d.c. | lieutenant general | 

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Taglines:

Things Are About To Spin Out Of Control

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [au] Official site [fr]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

In the loop

Filming Locations:

Inglis Barracks, Mill Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£612,650 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$191,866 (USA) (24 July 2009)

Gross:

$2,384,044 (USA) (16 October 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, UK Film Council, Aramid Entertainment Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being based on Armando Iannucci's TV show _"The Thick Of It" (2005)_ , and sharing the hand-held camera movements and pervasive bad language of it, only three of the characters in the film are the same as in the TV show: Malcolm Tucker, Jamie McDonald, and Sam, Malcolm's PA.

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Goofs

General Miller (James Gandolfini) is wearing a unit patch on his left shoulder. However, officers assigned to the Pentagon, since they are not officially assigned to units, do not wear a shoulder patch. At the apparent time of the movie (pre-Iraq), even the current generic square US Army patch was not as yet authorized.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Malcolm Tucker: Good morning, my little chicks and cocks.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: The Best Movies You Missed (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Allegro from Concerto grosso in G minor"
Written by Arcangelo Corelli

User Reviews

We May Have Found Summer's Sleep with 'In The Loop', America

Political comedy is a hard stunt to pull off. Ever since 1964, it seemed like nothing could top Dr. Strangelove. A lot of movies have tried and a lot have failed, although there were the lucky few that passed the bar (Election, Thank You for Smoking) but the brilliant thing about In The Loop is that it's so stupidly funny that it's one of the best comedies of the 21st Century! Armando Iannucci, most known for his The Thick of It series in the UK, directs a movie with the a the familiar theme of The Office. That documentary-style of film-making can be hit-or-miss (most recently, Public Enemies, a miss) and Iannucci hits it right on. Every scene he graces with a camera comes out picture perfect; nobody could've pegged this movie any better. Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Tony Roche and Simon Blackwell's script is something out of picture show heaven and sounds like it must've taken forever to finish, edit, revise, etc. Although these guys, these geniuses, apparently know what they're doing and don't care what anybody else says. That is the heart and soul of movie-making, readers. In The Loop is about a corrupt British government that accidentally gets the country thrown into the middle of a war. Loop stars Peter Capaldi, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison and there's even a whimsical cameo by Steve Coogan. Capaldi is the absolute best at what he did, spewing swears as coarse as they are a riot ("fuck you, you lubricated horse cock!") and freaking out. I can't even put into words just how funny this guy was; he made the movie! But don't forget Addison as Toby. Addison is the British Napoleon Dynamite, that incredibly awkward guy that makes even the audience members turn red. James Gandolfini and Gina McKee round out the rest of the cast greatly, filling In The Loop with the type of sexual tension that you don't want to think about. It's like when a sex scene pops up on a DVD you're watching with your parents. Yeah, that bad.In The Loop is one of the most laugh out loud comedies I've seen in the past decade, that sadly nobody will get a chance to watch. In a world of Transformers and G.I Joe, In The Loop will sadly be ignored. But on an optimistic note, we may have found this summer's sleeper, America.

5/5 stars.