Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa – review

A scene from Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Talk of an Alan Partridge film has been ongoing ever since the final series of I’m Alan Partridge finished over a decade ago, but whenever Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan were asked about the potential reality of a big screen outing for Norfolk’s finest, the response was often muted and non-committal.

There are several reasons why it has taken so long to happen and recent interviews suggest that producer Iannucci’s love/hate relationship with both the character and Coogan was a major factor, as the process would be a stressful undertaking.

Coogan himself also admitted that, although a part of Partridge will always stay with him – not surprising as he has been reprising the role in various forms over the past 20 years – his interests are beginning to veer away from out-and-out comedy.

As Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa finally arrived, the social media marketing drive was unique, with “Campaign for Alan Partridge Movie Premiere to be in Norwich” and “Anglia Square not Leicester Square” just some of the PR pushes.

This sums up not only the unbreakable regional link that makes Partridge so irresistibly quaint, but also shows how the makers made a pledge that if they were going to do the film people feared may never happen, they weren’t going to compromise it for the mass-market or pander to certain audiences by turning him something he is not.

Early teaser trailers suggested we might get an action-blockbuster Alan Partridge, but the joke was that although the writers (including Peter Baynham) and director (Declan Lowney) were going to give him his chance to be the hero in an action caper of sorts, he would remain the same old Alan – small-time, awkward, embarrassingly middle-of-the-road and with a misguided view of his own importance.

Norwich has and always will be Alan’s oyster, and after his career of highs and lows – mainly lows in which he has often alienated large sections of the community – here he is again being given once last chance to ride the crest of a media wave. This wave threatens to take him from mediocre local DJ to the dizzy heights of stardom, well maybe a slot on the breakfast show.

The catalyst is the takeover of North Norfolk Digital and the subsequent rebranding of the radio station to the more hip name of “Shape”, but the trigger is the sacking of Alan’s colleague, Pat Farrell [Colm Meaney]. Initially, like Pat, Alan is cynical about the takeover, seeing the money men as taking the heart out of the station and replacing it with buzz-word strategising and trendy branding.

However, his scepticism is short-lived as a trip to the boardroom shows him that the powers that be are aiming to cast aside the deadwood and one of the current “dinosaurs” at the station must go – and it will be either Alan or Pat that makes way. The quick-thinking Partridge makes a cringe-worthy case for his retention at the station, including some back-stabbing in the name of survival.

Trouble ensues when the devastated Farrell takes the news badly and returns tooled up to put the radio station under siege and take those inside as hostages. Alan comes into play when he becomes the unlikely negotiator, at the request of Farrell, between the police and the DJ scorned.

The key to this film and the slightly flimsy plot is the opportunity that the siege presents to Alan to turn this situation to his advantage, changing the negative into a positive for his own profile, as the press and media outlets soon start taking an interest.

His concern for the hostages and his own well-being are quickly suppressed by his ego, as his confidence grows and he seizes the chance to “bounce back” again into the public eye.

Cue smugness, politically and socially incorrect behaviour, playful bravado, and the usual plethora of effortlessly-quotable phrases and expressions, which are ridiculously uncool (though not in Alan’s mind), but unmistakably trademark Partridge. Oh, and a bit of effort is spent on actually trying to diffuse the situation.

Us joyous viewers are not only treated to the return of Alan’s ‘Mid-Morning Matters’ co-host, Simon [Tim Key], but also “work-Geordie” Michael [Simon Greenall] and perennial dog’s body PA, Lynn [Felicity Montagu], who provide some wonderful moments amidst Alan’s orchestration.

If it wasn’t for the slightly mock-Hollywood-esque plotline, this would not be so much a movie as a feature-length TV series special that just happens to be on the big screen.

What we end up with is a kind of surreal fantasy finale, which feels like a culmination of all that has come before in Alan’s many reinventions of himself. That takes nothing away from Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa though, as it is good to see the underdog on top again and you can’t help but want Alan to have the last laugh.

The aging presenter and his puppet-master Coogan are in fine form and the laugh-per-minute ratio is sky-high as usual.

Fans will not be disappointed and will probably be yearning for a return visit before reaching home, after replaying and re-enacting some of the quotes, poses and musical miming. For those who are not Alan Partridge aficionados, where the hell have you been?

Lovely stuff…back of the net…Alan has well and truly bounced back!

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (15) 
Directed by Declan Lowney
Starring: Steve Coogan, Colm Meaney, Felicity Montagu, Phil Cornwall, Sean Pertwee, Tim Key, Simon Greenall, Monica Dolan.
Running time: 90 minutes

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is showing at the Hackney Picturehouse throughout August.