In the Loop

Armando Iannucci returns to the world of his hit show The Thick of It as Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) deals with a Middle-East crisis.

Armando Iannucci’s BBC show The Thick of It is revived for this hilarious big-screen adaptation. When British minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) accidentally admits that intervention in the Middle East is “unforeseeable” – when in fact both the US and UK are keen on war – what ensues is a parade of hysterical misunderstandings and races against time.

Iannucci’s satire was a big hit in both the UK and across the pond, nabbing a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2009 Academy Awards. The notice was entirely warranted given the hilariously insulting, fired-off dialogue throughout the film, mostly delivered with wicked focus by Capaldi in a terrifically salty turn as Tucker.