Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Although comedic creations will never get the credit given to dramatic ones, I do consider Alan Partridge to be one of the finest modern characters because of how well developed he is internally and how well Coogan gets him. Partidge is an awful person but he is a normal one at the same time, which makes him all the more realistic in his actions. As a character he is never better than when we are closest to him, to see and appreciate his motives and his feelings – all of which are funny in their awful ways. The problem with this film then, is that we don't get that close often enough because there is a bigger plot to serve and move things forward.

This plot does still produce an engaging story but the film is best in its smaller, awkward moments where Alan's bravado crumbles into reality ("I never knew my mother either") or his selfish, egotistical self comes out in the smallest gestures (his dawning horror when he struggles to find himself on television is brilliant). The film has just about enough of these to work as a Partridge film but not quite enough to make it a great film, instead it is an amusing cinematic outing for a great character, but it is still hard not to feel a little disappointed with that.

The cast are pretty great though. Coogan himself deserved more smaller moments to let his character shine, but whenever he gets them he makes the most of them and is refreshingly free of worry of his own image. Meaney is really good but doesn't overplay or get in Coogan's way. Tim Key, Montagu and others all provide good support, but Coogan is the whole deal and all is well when the focus is on him.

Alpha Papa isn't as great as it could have been and it certainly will not challenge the TV shows for quality, but it is a solid film version, albeit one that is best when it shuns the film narrative and gets close to the human monster of Alan Partridge.

I love Alan Partridge. Great show. Great character. He is a man for the ages... However, all series do not translate well into film, and if you're like me, you're hopeful but hesitant.

Well, I'm happy to say that the film preserves the characters, humor and dynamics of the show. Although in the first fifteen minutes or so I wasn't quite 'sold' that this is the Alan I know, the Alan I've come to love; the film really finds it's stride once the siege starts.

We've seen peevish Alan. We've seen cowardly Alan. It is only now--in this film--that we bear witness to heroic Alan, and I'll be damned if he isn't somewhat, reasonably heroic...

To sum up, the story fits Alan and doesn't venture outside it's station (a lesson that certain secretaries should learn well). It really plays to the series strengths and has some of the best Alan moments we've seen. All of that being said, I'm not sure how those unfamiliar with Alan Partridge will feel about the film, as it does cater to fans of the series for the most part.

When I first discovered the premise of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, which is a siege of the North Norfolk Digital building by a disgruntled former employee, I was concerned that, like many big screen adaptations, Alan Partridge was departing from its humble, unspectacular roots.

By half way into the film, my concerns had unfortunately been confirmed. There are gun shots, fire-extinguishers to the face, explosions, armed policeman; it is by no means an action film, but since when was there such commotion in Alan's life?

It was the desperate loneliness, alienation and banality of Alan's life in the original TV series that made audiences laugh and cringe while pitying and sometimes despising the pathetic central character. When I got home completely deflated after watching Alpha Papa, I reminded myself of just how good Alan could be by watching YouTube clips of the 1997 series.

A single five minute scene of Alan attending a funeral captured the essence of the character. The dialogue is so rich, almost every line provided a laugh and I was cringing at Alan's complete and utter social ineptitude. Throughout the series you learn Alan's behaviour, it doesn't take one long to know when Alan has an agenda; he is so self-centred, immature and incredibly tactless that the viewer can read him like a book. It's both amusing and toe-curlingly embarrassing to see Alan converse with people and deal with his many problems.

All of the subtlety and character study is missing in the film. Alan is no longer a sad-man, a complete liability. He's still cringe-worthy, particularly in scenes where he attempts to court a colleague, but none of the gags even scrape the surface of the programme's brilliance.

The gags are really quite tired. They're predictable and rehashed, particularly scenes that initially appear melodramatic but are then abruptly interrupted by an action or one-liner like a needle scratching across vinyl. There's also a genre-aware armed stand-off scene towards the end where the characters have 'humourous', flippant exchanges despite the immediate danger in an 'In Bruges' fashion, only not funny. More than once I found myself sighing with disappointment and embarrassment at just how off-the-mark and rehashed the comedy was.

Just like the film's premise, Coogan's performance is overblown, he needed to reel himself in. There would be flashes of classic Partridge, but generally both the dialogue and slapstick comedy just died. I commend Coogan's skill for miming perfectly to Roachford's 'Cuddly Toy', however it just wasn't as funny as his air bass performance of Gary Numan's 'Music for Chameleons' in the second series. Also, Alan doesn't look right in the film. His appearance is still demonstrably uncool, however he isn't as awfully square and repellent as he was in the series. If anything, Alan's ageing process seems to be in reverse.

The two principal characters of the programme, Lynn, Alan's devoted and criminally underpaid secretary, and Michael, Alan's good natured friend, seldom appear in the film. These characters were crucial in the series as they revealed many facets of Alan's personality, exposing just how self-absorbed and manipulative he is whilst also showing how utterly dependent he is on their attention.

We have the original team of Coogan and Iannucci, however it lacks almost every element that made the series so funny, eminently quotable and re-watchable. It shares very little in common with its televisual sibling, all Alpha Papa has is a caricature of a caricature and a thin, boring siege plot.

"I'm trying to save your head, shoulders, knees and toes." Alan Partridge (Coogan) is a famous DJ who works for a station that has just been bought out. When rumors about firings begin to swirl his friend and co-worker Pat Farrell (Meaney) thinks he is on the list so he does the only reasonable thing, he takes the station hostage. It is up to his friend Alan to defuse the situation, but things don't go as planned. I have never seen him do this character before so I was sure what to expect from this. Almost immediately I was laughing and that continued throughout the movie. There is quite a bit of British humor in this but it is more main stream American then say a Monty Python or Shaun Of The Dead is. Coogan is great in this and I wouldn't hate if they made more movies with this character. The easiest way to describe this is like a British Anchorman with the constant over the top antics and the make-it- up-as-you-go feel. This isn't a movie for everyone but I really thought it was funny and I recommend this. Overall, very funny movie, I really liked it a lot, but again it's not a comedy for everyone. I give this a B+.

Radio DJ Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) works at a local station in Norwich. They are taken over by a big corporation. He crashes a board meeting and discovers that it's either him or Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney). He backstabs Pat who gets fired. Later Pat comes back with a gun to take over the station. Pat demands to talk through Alan in exchange for three hostages. The cops press Alan into the radio station.

I was a bit concerned when shoots were fired but the movie never missed a beat. It kept the quick fire jokes going. I'll be honest that I've never heard of Alan Partridge. Although Steve Coogan has obviously honed in on the character. His machine gun delivery is really sharp. Even if you miss one joke, the next one is coming right on top of you. Colm Meaney has the high energy to keep up with Coogan.