In The Loop

Planning one's iPod playlist for a long-haul flight is a delicate task. Not only do you have to pick music that you like, or are particularly "into" at that moment, but the music has to be subduing, lulling you into a sense of contentment and tranquility. This aspect of one's journey can be carefully and meticulously planned in advance. Not so with in-flight entertainment. Cracking open the on-board magazine and scanning the cinema planner is like reading through a list of Mark Kermode's worst films of the year. It's very difficult to find something that you haven't anything to be dismayed about, so you resign yourself to watching something you've seen already. (All the more important, then, to pack that playlist to capacity.) Over the years, one of the exceptions to the rule, for me, was Armando Iannucci's reinvigoration of parliamentary drama The Thick Of It, into the feature length In The Loop. A satirical comedy that combines just the right amount of politics with unnecessary swearing courtesy of Malcolm Tucker, played by the brilliant Peter Capaldi, who based the character on Blair's infamous spin-doctor, Alistair Campbell. Ninety minutes flew by, and I was that much closer to home. For a montage of brilliant swearing, see below, but if you're American, and are averse to curse-words, you're better if in the company of Stephen Fry, who knows better. What's more, In The Loop features a superb little cameo performance by Steve Coogan, popular on this blog, indeed.