In The Loop

One word kicks this political comedy off and it doesn't let up for the remainder. During a live radio interview, dim-witted MP Simon Foster (Hollander) said that war in Iraq was 'unforeseeable.' It's a casual, throwaway comment but the press are all over it and the spin-doctors go into overdrive. Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi) gets his arms around the situation before it snowballs with a Yes, Minister response: "He did not say 'unforeseeable'. You may have heard him say it, but he didn't say it and that is a fact!" But it's too late: the press have jumped and the Americans use Foster as a pawn in the political arena. The Americans have their own faux pas to deal with, too: a paper is leaked listing the pros and cons of going to war, which causes a rumpus on Capitol Hill.

The dramas that have tackled the Middle East question have been heavy-handed affairs, and although In The Loop is a mire of twists and turns, its light take on its big theme is a welcome relief. A labyrinth of dialogue, quips, one-liners and bizarre and inventive insults spew forth at a mile-a-minute (this reviewer gave up scribbling them down after "lubricated horse cock"). Capaldi is given the best lines ("Climb the mountain of conflict? You sound like a Nazi Julie Andrews.") and he steals the show whenever he's on screen; when he's not on screen, Hollander's all-at-sea politician and his bumbling assistant (Addison) do more than just fill the time. Iannucci, in adapting his own series In The Thick Of It, marries the nasty side of The West Wing with the documentary approach and the sly humour of The Office to great effect. In a tactic that is difficult to pull off, Iannucci manages to switch from British wit to American absurdity seamlessly: Gandolfini's "Once you've been to war, you don't want to go there again unless you have too... like France," is typical of the American wisecracks. Sometimes funny, sometimes hilarious, always smart, In The Loop is the best comedy of the year so far.