In the Loop
IFC Films | Release Date: July 24, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The language is brilliant, and the laugh lines come so quickly that you'd probably have to watch the movie twice to get them all. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Hands down the funniest movie I've seen all year and also the smartest. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The chattering smarty-pants who ran the U.S. government on "The West Wing" are slow talkers compared with the motormouthed and hilariously imperfect power elite in the brainy British comedy In the Loop. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
In The Loop floats above its chaotic world on wave after wave of beautifully profane dialogue. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
Britain's diplomatic corps may be as clueless and impotent as In the Loop suggests, but British comedians are fully capable of taking over the world. Read full review
90
NPRBob Mondello
The performances are explosively funny, from Hollander's increasingly bewildered and way-out-of-his-depth Simon to Chris Addison's hapless PR fledgling. But the star is Peter Capaldi. Read full review
90
VarietyDennis Harvey
Intelligent political satire this expertly acted is nothing to sneeze at. Read full review
90
Village VoiceMelissa Anderson
Not to detract from the pleasure of watching the consistently excellent actors, who enhance the dialogue's bite with their body language, but the script of In the Loop is so rich that it could work as a radio play. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyRobert Wilonsky
Zooming back and forth between London and D.C., In the Loop hasn't any real plot -- it plays like a rather brilliant Brit-com stretched over 100 minutes, a collection of anecdotes and incidents. Read full review
90
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
Tremendous fun at times, especially in its vicious power plays and betrayals. But it has no redeeming value beyond entertainment. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
A sharply written, fast-talking, almost dementedly articulate satire on modern statecraft. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
In the Loop is certainly the smartest and funniest movie inspired by the Iraq war. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Dancing along a line just shy of the edge of brilliance, In the Loop possesses an incisive, take-no-prisoners comedic style that offers plenty of solid laughs while making a point about the stupidity, selfishness, and lack of awareness that exists within the highest echelons of government. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The movie is absolutely hilarious, a satire as brisk and fleet as a farce and as profane as a convention of Tony Montana impersonators. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Laugh you will, loud and often. In the Loop deserves to be a sleeper hit. The whole cast is stellar. And it proves that smart and funny can exist in the same movie, even in summer. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
As a ranking cabinet minister in the brutally funny political satire In the Loop, actor Peter Capaldi unfurls dazzling verbal ribbons of the foulest language imaginable, thunderbolts of vulgarity that carry the force of precision carpet-bombing. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
While director Armando Iannucci's brand of satire -- just plausible enough to be painful -- isn't for all tastes, it's a little bit of heaven to hear screen characters spew such eloquently vicious bile. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
One of those should-I-laugh-or-cry satires. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
One of the sharpest satires in years. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Painfully funny satire of British and American bureaucrats in the days leading up to the Iraq War. Read full review
80
Film ThreatBrad Wilke
Generous with its humor and spares no sacred cows, especially when it comes to the American political system. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael Ordona
In the Loop is no precious show dog. It's a snarling, frothing little beastie straining at its leash. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Deliciously bleak, black political satire from British director Armando Iannucci. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A scabrously funny look at the cutthroat game of statecraft. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
It's often obscenely funny, but it tickles more than it stings. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The best satire implicates the audience; this stuff keeps our sense of superiority smugly intact. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
It's also a British comedy, with that singularly British way of being clever and deliriously juvenile all at once, a combination that makes for scathing, laugh-out-loud, big-screen satire. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
In the Loop is clever and lively, but it isn't sharp or nasty enough to cut very deep; at best it's just a peppery trifle. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoanne Kaufman
It’s the hilarious tumble of words--the sly cultural references, astonishingly creative invective, the veritable arias of profanity--that gives the film an unexpected heft. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Drawing upon "Wag the Dog," "Dr. Strangelove" and "This Is Spinal Tap," this sardonic tale is adapted from the critically acclaimed BBC series "The Thick of It." Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
By the end of the film, you just want to get away from these people. Read full review
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