Allow me to join Martin and Samir and what will eventually be a whole slew of you praising IN THE LOOP. It's pretty much a given that this is the comedy of the year. The joke frequency is as high as a particularly enjoyable silly comedy while the satire manages to rise above the usual smug choir-preaching and get some pointed shots in (like those at Gandolfini's Colin Powell-esque general). That's no surprise coming from Iannucci, I know, but I think a lot of people inured to Hollywood hacks like John Cusack and Barry Levinson fumbling with this stuff will find it refreshing and this film will generate a sizable following over time.
It's appropriate in a way that this is coming out alongside The Hurt Locker (and not just because they're both hilarious). That film is more effectively anti-war from an audience perspective than any of the other Iraq movies precisely because it's seemingly so apolitical. Meanwhile, ITL cleverly and humanely illustrates the farcial nature of the war buildup by focusing more on flailing mid-level types rather than subconsciously trying to get Cheney, Blair, et al indicted for war crimes. It's also a testament to Iannucci's talent that he was able not only to reconfigure The Thick of It and now the film around such a demonic character as Malcolm Tucker, but that he successfully threw ANOTHER scene-stealing, hyper-agressive Scotsman into the mix as well, just for the hell of it.
