Akascribe A personal blog covering all manner of subjects

I recently saw the British movie In the Loop (with a good buddy – congratulations on fatherhood, Edwin!) and left the cinema with mixed feelings.  The film is very funny, an over-the-top send-up of politics and diplomacy that echoes the lead-up to the Iraq War.  We were literally in stitches for much of the film, especially in response to the fictional press secretary to the British Prime Minister, a foul-mouthed Glaswegian who is equal parts Nicolo Machiavelli and Lewis Black.  But every character behaves so badly, from all echelons of the British and American governments, and so hilariously, that I was left emotionally and morally drained.  One can only hope that the extreme cynicism of the satire was only remotely grounded in reality.

I suppose the humor is akin to that of Sasha Baron Cohen – it’s so painful to watch and so seemingly bereft of redemption that you feel disappointed in yourself for taking pleasure in it.  Part of an old screenwriting adage from Hollywood goes: “Comedy is hard.” That is, difficult to pull off.  But in this case, it’s hard in the other sense as well.