Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Steve Coogan could never be accused of rushing into a big-screen transfer for his hapless broadcaster, who debuted on the radio in 1991. The eventual Partridge movie has modest roots in 2010's online shorts Mid Morning Matters, which found Alan presenting at North Norfolk Digital. After the station is taken over by a media conglomerate, cuts are implemented, with DJ Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) given the boot. However, he refuses to go quietly, commandeering the airwaves and taking hostages, with Alan becoming the mediator in the ensuing police siege. Alpha Papa eschews the high-concept, travelogue approach of other small-to-big-screen comedy characters, like those of Sacha Baron Cohen or Mr Bean, and instead draws from Partridge's well-drawn TV universe featuring Tim Key's sidekick, Felicity Montagu's PA and Phil Cornwell's damaged jock. They all benefit from a clearly honed script full of continually hilarious lines, directed with economy and sharp comic timing by Declan Lowney (Father Ted). At the centre of it all, Coogan's vanity-free performance is a perpetual turbine. It mightn't travel further than Cromer, but it's so refreshing to see a British comedy film that thinks small and stays local.