By Koty Neelis
Western Herald
Kalamazoo Film Society will present, “In the Loop,” beginning Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at Western Michigan University’s Little Theatre.
“In the Loop” is a comedy from BBC writer and political satirist, Armando Iannucci, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film centers around the idea of the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain wanting to go to war.
Art imitates life in this witty political satire that follows the activities of a British diplomatic staff in Washington, D.C. prior to the invasion of Iraq.
It is complete with bad and good intelligence, PR blunders, and pure ego, as the absurdity and ineptitude of world leaders from the US and UK commit to a full-blown crisis in the Middle East.
The ensemble cast, which includes James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”) and Anna Chlumsky (“My Girl”), makes the most of the reality-based fiction in this fast paced comedy. Although the laughs arrive at a steady pace, the subtext that underlies them is sobering; the difference between a war of necessity and a war of choice may mean the difference between life and death.
Mike Marchak, president of KFS, says although he hasn’t seen the film himself, the reviews can speak for it.
“The reviews are stellar. Rotten Tomatoes’ score is 95 percent. The film has been compared to the great political satires of the past, ‘Dr. Strangelove’ and ‘Wag the Dog,’ with the irreverence of Monty Python thrown in,” he said.
David Anderson, WMU senior, said he thinks it will be interesting to see James Gandolfini play something other than a bad guy.
“I’ve only seen him [Gandolfini] in ‘The Sopranos’ or playing a mob boss, so it will be cool to see him try a comedy,” Anderson said.
Gandolfini is no stranger to comedy though, according to Marchak.
“Mr. Gandolfini has done comedy in the past with an early film of Tarantino’s, ‘True Romance.’ He has also done a number of ‘Saturday Night Live’ guest host appearances during the run of ‘The Sopranos,’” he said.
Show times for “In the Loop” are Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7:15 p.m.
Running time is 1 hour 46 minutes. The film is not rated, but contains coarse language.
Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students.
The Little Theatre is located on the corner of Oakland Drive and
Oliver Street.
Free parking is available behind the building with extra parking across both Oakland and Oliver.
