It's obvious that you need to have an appreciation for British comedy in order to enjoy this movie, since it's a very a very typically British one. But then again, doesn't every person love British comedy?
The way I see it; British comedy has everything in it that makes comedy so good, fun, universal and timeless. The timing, the wittiness, the execution of all of it, the accents, the absurdness of certain things, the fact that people aren't afraid to make fools of themselves, the both realistic and at the same time dry approach to it all. I mean, I could go on and on about it. Also the beauty about it often is how all of the situations and characters can be very absurd but the movies still manage to have some real heart to them as well. The character's, no matter what obnoxious douche-bags they are, are often always extremely likable and even easy to relate to. The same can be said about Alan Partridge really. Nothing 'normal' or likable about him as a person but as a character you just can't help but to love him!
And that's still the biggest and most important thing about this movie; it has a good main character in it, played by Steve Coogan, who has played the character of radio DJ for over years now. It's a good, witty, comical character, that's perhaps an annoyance to his surrounding but a perfectly fun one to watch for us.
It's a very quick and witty comedy, that's well written and has some good dialog and comical situations in it. In some ways it does feel more like a TV sketch than an actual movie but that's no criticism toward this movie really. It's also no big surprise, seeing how director Declan Lowney is mostly experienced with TV work, as is Declan Lowney, who started out his career that way. I don't know, it's hard to explain or put my finger on but the movie feels a bit too simplistic and restrained in parts.
It's not like this movie features a story with multiple layers to it, or one that has tons of interesting and fun side-plots in it. No, the story is kept very simple and straightforward, at basically all times, which is something that keeps this movie 'goofy' and fun to watch but at times I wish they movie would have done some more with its concept and different characters. And really, there was plenty of plenty of room and opportunity for all of it. It's a bit too easy and predictable how this movie resolves certain issues and handles certain characters at times. The fact that the entire movie is mostly set at one location doesn't help much and even turns the movie into a bit of a repetitive and tiresome one at times.
But really, I'm not complaining all that much, since I truly enjoyed watching "Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa" and liked it for the silly, witty, quick comedy that it was!
7/10
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