Pjtaylor-96-138044
What we have in 'Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)' is an impression of an impression, a lifeless caricature that might've once satirised something but now essentially only spoofs itself. We're constantly asked to laugh at jokes that simply aren't jokes, told by someone playing the 'straight man' to a wackier side-kick who just isn't there, someone who's constantly trying to come across as a cocky cock-up who's consistently the butt of the joke but instead bumbles about just enough to be that misogynistic dinosaur who everyone used to put up with purely because they felt sorry for him - or, worse, because he was their boss - and are now in a position where they lack the patience or pressure to do so. It's about as fun, and indeed funny, as it sounds. The picture seems both painfully unaware of this, prattling on with its poor excuse of a wish-fulfilling plot that paints its fading protagonist's stardom as something which can be regained (through the most dire, though here tension-less, of situations, I'll add), and astutely on-the-ball, made only as a last chance cash-in of a character that was once a passion of Coogan but now, along with the very existence of the picture, ironically represents everything the flick's forced-in corporate 'antagonists' do (who are hard to take seriously as such when there's a guy with a gun taking hostages). It's this odd mixture of earnest yet misguided revival and clearly corporate cash-grab that makes the movie feel so confused, as it almost feels genuinely torn between these two intentions and can't find its footing in either camp because of it. I'm not sure which would be worse, either: if the filmmakers aren't aware how outdated and obsolete their central character is or if they just don't care. The fact that nothing is done to update or, at the very least, comment on their character's 'stuck in the past' nature is, at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, a further sign of their apathy. There's nothing to the movie, either. It's passive, laugh-free and poorly edited. Worst of all, it's also painfully dull. 4/10
danren121
Anyone who has seen the Alan Partridge character before on the telly will be familiar with the shameless scrooge like narcissist he portrays. So the movie inevitably attempts to capture Partridge in his extremes against the backdrop of the changing media world which in this case seems to be gravitating towards corporate takeovers and shallow media content that allegedly placates the tastes of a younger target audience. The switch of late to the 'Mid Morning Matters' format has suited the Partridge style well and the irreverent style of banter it espouses certainly lends itself aptly to the picture, giving the film a more deliberate type of spontaneity that few other comic films of late can boast.So Partridge on such a stage as this gets to demonstrate the evolution from what one is familiar with to a greater awareness as to how his actions effect other's. Depending on ones tastes or mood this film will be viewed with varying amounts of aha.
FilmBuff1994
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a decent movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a good cast. It's nothing outstanding, but it definitely brings in several big laughs, Steve Coogan is the highlight of the movie, as he seems completely dedicated and still very happy playing Alan Partridge, a character he has been portraying for several years now. It's a very hit and miss comedy and, sadly, there are much more scenes that miss, it all felt like the script was written at the spur of the moment, so many jokes are very mediocre and felt like any person could have came up with them. The rest of the cast, besides Coogan, didn't seem very pushed about this film, they probably just considered it a paycheck, particularly Colm Meaney, who didn't seem like he wanted to be there at all, which was a shame as he had one of the most important roles. It's a very average comedy that is worth a watch if you have some time to kill, but you certainly shouldn't be going out of your way to see Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Alan Partridge's life is put at risk when he becomes a hostage at his own radio station. Best Performance: Steve Coogan Worst Performance: Felicity Montagu
hamilton-54-580314
Massive fan of Alan Partridge down the years. I realize that the lengthened format almost universally fails to live up to the shortened one but this offering fell far below what I had expected from one of my all- time favorite British comedic brands. This was very surprising as Steve Coogan/Alan Partridge has done such a fantastic job down the years of limiting his output & thus placing any new stuff at a huge premium for avid fans like myself. I enjoyed Coogan's similarly formulaic The Parole Officer from 2001 far more than this lazy, tired, insult to one of the top British comedy brands of the last 30 years. The reasons for the failure of this effort in my eyes are a combination of weakened casting (widened) & the inability to use Partridge as the singular focus under the limitations of the format.
AD
