For the last two decades, Alan Partridge has being a corner stone of British comedy, a hugely entertaining purveyor of rapid fire jokes and cringe inducing humour long before Ricky Gervais and The Office took it global. An insecure and self absorbed parody of television personalities, played to perfection by Steve Coogan (he has had over twenty years to perfect the act), his initial appearances charted his rise and fall, from radio DJ to chat show host to DJ again (after a disastrous christmas special of his chat show ended with him punching both his boss and a wheel chair bound guest), but recent years have seen something of a career renaissance (which is quite odd since he is a fictional character), with a book, a web series, and several t.v specials, and now he has set his sights on the big screen with Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. But does the character work in a feature film? The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes, with Alpha Papa not only delivering what the fans expect and want, but it is also one of the most genuinely hilarious comedies of 2013.
Threatened with being sacked from radio station North Norfolk Digital, after it is bought by a multinational conglomerate and renamed Shape, Alan throws his friend and fellow DJ Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) under the bus, resulting in Pat losing his job instead. Understandably disgruntled, the former DJ returns with a shotgun and holds the entire station hostage, with the only person he will talk to being Alan, who quickly becomes the face of the siege (as he puts it, "I am siege face"), and see's this as his way back into the lime light.
Unbelievably, the siege plot is the perfect comedy goldmine for the Partridge character, and Coogan keeps digging until his hands are bloody nubs. He is on top form here, keeping the comedy coming thick and fast, from his trademark Partridge-isms ("Which is the worst monger? Iron, fish, rumour, or war"), to some hilariously sublime facial expressions. That's not to say all the comedy comes from Alan, but it is Alan related, with pretty much every character being a straight man (including Felicity Montagu, reprising her role as Alan's long suffering assistant Lynn) to Coogan's ego driven glory hound. It's rare for a joke to fall flat (a quick flash of partial nudity may be the one step too far), and there is always a background gag, or small detail that will keep you chuckling. The film is endlessly quotable, and director Declan Lowney (a veteran of Father Ted and Little Britain) keeps things quick and light, every so often going a bit deeper and touching on the human drama of Alan's latest grasp for fame. The story is a simple one, but there is wealth of comedy to be had from it, and it moves along at a rapid pace, leading to a satisfying finale, featuring the worlds slowest car chase set the John Farnham's You're The Voice.
As I've said, Coogan is firing on all cylinders here, making Partridge instantly likable, even though he is such a slimy so and so. You don't have to be a fan of the character to enjoy this movie, as he will take you on side pretty quickly. Meaney is endearing as the crazy hostage taker, displaying some great pathos in the role, and his chemistry with Coogan is fantastic, leading to some great interplay between the pair.
A fitting movie for such a great character, and genuinely funny to boot, is a triumph for British comedy. As Alan Partridge himself would say, "Back of the net!".
