Alan Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by the English comedian Steve Coogan (The Look Of Love / The Trip) and created by him and Armando Iannucci, who also collaborated on this feature film, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, directed by Declan Lowney (Little Britain). British audiences are more familiar with Partridge, although both series of I’m Alan Partridge have cropped up on Australian TV screens from time to time. In England he is primarily known for his wonderfully conceited, rather idiosyncratic behaviour on BBC Radio 4 programs such as On The Hour. This latest venture brings the Partridge character to the silver screen for the first time. The movie takes you on a rather bizarre journey with the hapless radio host in his home territory of North Norfolk in the UK.

When one of his DJ colleagues Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney – The Damned United / The Perfect Stranger) is sacked by their station’s new owners, a giant media conglomerate, Farrell takes his fellow workers hostage at the station and uses Partridge as his ally in confronting the police and the media covering the siege. Meanwhile, Partridge’s on-air sidekick Simon (TV actor and writer, Tim Key) is tied up and has his head strapped into a saucepan-like helmet that neatly holds the twin barrels of Farrell’s shotgun. What ensues is a mad-cap attempt to placate the disgruntled employee while giving Partridge the opportunity to work the limelight and play out all his idiosyncrasies. Partridge’s behaviour is particularly warped considering he contributed to Farrell’s sacking – this is a guy who is the absolute definition of self-centred! As the tension rises, his manic behaviour goes completely off the wall, becoming quite hilarious at times.

The Brits have always had their eccentric comic character performers such as Morecombe and Wise, Benny Hill, Tony Hancock and Sid James, Tommy Cooper, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, et al., but Coogan has taken this tradition one step further with his creation of Partridge. Alan is sort of like a ‘Pommy’ Norman Gunston. One of the best comedians around at present, Coogan’s work is unique and this character brings out the best of his talent. However, this is not a film for everyone’s taste but if you are prepared to be weirdly amused and taken on a ride full of mayhem, tinged with a sense of unease (as you are never quite sure what is going to happen and how far down the path of insanity this is prepared to go), then this can be a most enjoyable 90 minutes. It would have been fascinating to have been a ‘fly on the wall’ while such a demented team of writers (Coogan, Iannucci and Peter Baynham) were creating this oddball script, each gunning for the biggest laughs.

// SALT

Previewed at Sony theatrette, Sydney on October 15, 2013