Review: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa – one of the last decade’s most eagerly anticipated films? Well, for me and certain other Partridge enthusiasts is was long overdue. With a raft of recent activity (online radio episodes, an autobiography that actually sold this time, a documentary, appearances on TV and radio interviews), this big-screen move is another career move from one of North Norfolk’s most successful radio DJs and light entertainment hosts. And this was my main fear: that it had so much to live up to, and TV-to-radio adaptations so often fail.

Imagine my relief, then, when it was all OK. TV Quick Magazine’s Man of the Moment 1994 was working his magic. The plot was solid, there were a lot of laughs, and many of the old faces were there (PTSD Michael, embattled Mrs. Doyle-esque Lynne, boozed-up dosser and dwad Dave Clifton). There were numerous broadcasting gaffes from the man who suggested monkey tennis, inner-city sumo and youth hostelling with Chris Eubank. ‘Tonight we’re asking: has anyone ever met a genuinely clever bus driver?’

It was also an intelligent attempt at maturing Alan. In the decade of absence between series two of I’m Alan Partridge (unless you count a half-hour special) and his return on Mid-Morning Matters, he has gone from a young fogey in the midst of a mid-life crisis to an old fool more comfortable in his own skin, experimenting with staying young and hip. Gone are the blazers, polo necks and anoraks – 2010s Alan is all about the jeans, trainers and snazzy jackets. Watching him banter with Tim Keys’ Sidekick Simon is as funny as Alan’s awkward inability to fend off Chris Morris’ taunts during On The Hour.

I guess that the main problem was that there just wasn’t enough time watching Alan bumble and annoy his way through Norwich. The best moments in his illustrious career have come from very ordinary interactions – chatting to a Geordie about small arms fire procedure, smelling cheese with the chief commissioning editor of the BBC, judging a country fayre in Swaffham. With all this running and slapstick, the very essence of inadequate Alan, and thus his huge appeal, is lost.

Alpha Papa is a very good film, very funny, and as addition to the Partridge canon, a solid effort. Ultimately, nothing is ever going to live up to series one of I’m Alan Partridge. But overall: cashback!

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