"Whose this beautifull man with a lovely voice, its Annie Lennox."

February 25, 2014 3:46 PM

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa international trailer. Oh, you're an American and thusly only vaguely aware of Steve Coogan as that guy who did Hamlet 2? Well here's Alan Partridge (official US release title) trailer.

A brief primer of Alan Partridge on television:

Alan Partridge cluelessly doing sports commentary on The Day Today (Part 1, Part 2)

Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge. Full series playlist.

A compilation of bits from I'm Alan Partridge series 1.

Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge.

posted by mediocre (46 comments total)

I'm an American who saw Alpha Papa and enjoyed it. That bit with the window, the cop, and the paparazzi was classic.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 3:52 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

That compilation link is for I'm Alan Partridge series 2. Still worth watching though. There is a site with the scripts for series one somewhere on the internet. Seriously funny stuff.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:55 PM on February 25, 2014

Steve Coogan? Roman guy from Night at the Museum, you mean.
posted by davros42 at 3:57 PM on February 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

I can't wait for this. We have consumed all things Partridge (On the Air and The Day Today), the radio show, the various TV series, the various digital followups.

Definite Alan Partridge flashback when watching Hannah Horvath awkwardly using a funeral to check on her book contract....
posted by stevil at 4:25 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

We know who Steve Coogan is. He's the guy from Tropic Thunder that that thing happens to.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:26 PM on February 25, 2014 [4 favorites]

You mean, Steve Coogan from 24 Hour Party People?
posted by MoxieProxy at 4:37 PM on February 25, 2014 [6 favorites]

No, I think it's Steve Coogan from The Trip.
posted by Dr-Baa at 4:39 PM on February 25, 2014 [12 favorites]

My "Oh, you're American?" bit was just a snarky aside about Coogan's relative difficulty breaking into the American movie market. His greatest success on a mainstream level has been in Philomena, and though he was great in it it hardly was a showcase for his comic talents.
posted by mediocre at 4:42 PM on February 25, 2014

I think he's that bloke from Saxondale.
posted by Flashman at 4:43 PM on February 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

Saxondale was a bit of a disappointment, in my opinion. There was more that could have been done with the worn out ex-roadie with anger issues character. But it was nice to see Coogan embody a new character.

And I love the updated Michael Caine bit from the new Coogan/Brydon Trip series.
posted by mediocre at 4:45 PM on February 25, 2014 [4 favorites]

I can't think of U2 without thinking of this.
posted by Xalf at 4:48 PM on February 25, 2014

Steve Coogan's that guy from Breakfast at Tiffany's. No, wait, that's Andy Rooney.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:50 PM on February 25, 2014

The movie was great, by the way. I loved how they stayed true to the characters lot in life by having his big moment on the grand stage still be in Norfolk. The "I haven't been off television in THAT long" line from the trailer is spot on Partridge, in his fictional timeline Partridge hasn't been on television in twenty some years. And the fact that he used his old photo and just pasted a new Norfolk Digital coffee mug for his promotional material, just amazing attention to character details like that are what make Coogan's Partridge such a masterstroke.
posted by mediocre at 4:58 PM on February 25, 2014

I had no idea Steve Coogan was the guy from so many things.
posted by narain at 5:04 PM on February 25, 2014

I kind of preferred the teaser trailer.
posted by uosuaq at 5:18 PM on February 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

Saxondale had a few brilliant moments. I think my favourite scene was where he was on the verge of being unfaithful with another woman until they arrive back at her place and he discovers they have distinctly different ideas about what era constitutes classic Genesis. He climbs out of the toilet window.
And I did enjoy the recent memoir I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan, though perhaps like Saxondale it didn't quite live up to its potential.
posted by Flashman at 5:29 PM on February 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

Fashion Means Coogan!

Oh oops, I guess that's Jackie Coogan. My mistake.
posted by kiltedtaco at 5:30 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

I kind of liked Hamlet 2, but I seem to be alone in that.
posted by Area Man at 5:40 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

I love Hamlet 2.
posted by putzface_dickman at 6:00 PM on February 25, 2014

5 expats in Buenos Aires had a very happy film club watching Alpha Papa the other night. It's spot-on, classic Partridge. Love it.
posted by jontyjago at 6:02 PM on February 25, 2014

Thanks to him I still judge rooms based on whether you could swing a tiger in them.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:09 PM on February 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

There is a site with the scripts for series one somewhere on the internet. Seriously funny stuff.

Found it. The scripts are in the frame on the left side. I would link directly to them instead of the homepage but then you'd miss the site in all its nostalgic glory (hosted on Angelfire! with a counter! and part of a webring! last updated in 2001!).
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:26 PM on February 25, 2014

I, too, adore Hamlet 2.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:27 PM on February 25, 2014

I liked Hamlet 2. I don't know what's wrong with us.
posted by vincele at 6:27 PM on February 25, 2014

That compilation link is for I'm Alan Partridge series 2. Still worth watching though.

You're right that the video is series 2, which I actually didn't like. Series 1 is great.

Saxondale was a bit of a disappointment, in my opinion. There was more that could have been done with the worn out ex-roadie with anger issues character.

I love Saxondale, but the one thing I found most disappointing was his young assistant. In the pilot, when he gets hired and gets coerced into living with them at the same time, you feel like it's going to be a great setup for all sorts of comic conflict to happen, but then nothing happens. He's just there to be an accessory to Tommy.
posted by John Cohen at 6:37 PM on February 25, 2014

I wouldn't tell anyone not to watch this, as it is funny and enjoyable. It's just that a feature length film doesn't suit the character. It's too large a vehicle.
posted by panaceanot at 6:44 PM on February 25, 2014

Laughing my ass off at these clips. Must watch more of The Trip.
I did think series 1 was best, though.
Shocked that there were none of Alan's creepy leather-underpants-fantasy-sequences in the movie trailer.
posted by chococat at 7:13 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's too large a vehicle.

Alan Partridge: There's no point finishing the sentence, Lynn, because I am not driving a Mini-Metro.
Lynn Benfield: But if you...
Alan Partridge: Lynn! I'll just speak over you.
[Lynn tries to speak]
Alan Partridge: No! Go on, try and finish the sentence and see what I do. Go on.
[They both talk together]
Lynn Benfield: With a skeleton staff of two...
Alan Partridge: I'm not driving a Mini-Metro, I'm not driving a Mini-Metro, I'm not driving a Mini-Metro.
Lynn Benfield: No, no, no, it's different. It's called a Rover Metro now.
Alan Partridge: They've rebadged it, you fool!
Lynn Benfield: Well, Alan, if you want a Rover 200 you're going to have to sack everyone at Pear Tree Productions.
Alan Partridge: Fine.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:20 PM on February 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

No, it's Steve Coogan from Tristram Shandy.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:43 PM on February 25, 2014 [4 favorites]

I love Steve Coogan and Alan Partridge but I found Alpha Papa to be a bit underwhelming. Perhaps I set the bar too high.
posted by smackwich at 7:43 PM on February 25, 2014

Oh man, the Stephen Hawking impression.
posted by chococat at 7:59 PM on February 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

What? Nobody noticed Truly Beloved Actor (and Whipping Boy of TWO Star Trek Shows) Colm Meaney? There's a scene in the movie trailer where he freaking shoots at Partridge! YES!
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:06 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

Coogan and his buddy (and great comedian in his own right) Rob Brydon are finishing up a second series of The Trip, too, for fans of that, of which I am one of them.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:44 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh, the I, Partridge audiobook is a riot. His film Philomena is perfectly lovely. Saxondale...ehhh. I think I need to give it another go some day, but it didn't quite hit the spot when I first tried it.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:46 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't tell anyone not to watch this, as it is funny and enjoyable. It's just that a feature length film doesn't suit the character. It's too large a vehicle.

Agreed. Not particularly suitable scenario for the character and I, Partridge is hard to follow. It just wasn't a very funny film. It was amusing.

My favourite line was "That was soft rock cocaine enthusiasts Fleetwood Mac."
posted by juiceCake at 9:40 PM on February 25, 2014

I named my guinea pig Tristram because he's a dandy missing a foot and I just watched A Cock And Bull Story for the tenth time that weekend.

I was shocked at how good Alpha Papa was. It was consistently funny for the length of the film. Really well written.

And add me to the Hamlet 2 fanclub. I keep hoping for a sequel.
posted by kendrak at 9:54 PM on February 25, 2014

I don't know if I can ever watch a Batman movie again without thinking "HE GETS VERY LOUD INDEED!"

I love the dueling Michael Caines so very much.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:05 PM on February 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

It just wasn't a very funny film. It was amusing.

Barely.

Personally, I thought it was the worst thing Coogan had done. At least he was trying in Saxondale.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:30 AM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

This thread is going a bit Statler and Waldorf.

When I saw Alpha Papa there was an Australian girl in the cinema with us who had been in the country for three months, she expressed astonishment that British people could be so raucous and would actually laugh out loud at things. She didn't get all the jokes, but she enjoyed the audience reaction.

Isn't that Steve Coogan from Coogan's Run?
posted by asok at 1:50 AM on February 26, 2014

Colm Meaney is one of the best things about the film.

I laughed, and I enjoyed it, but Alan Partridge toes the line for me in terms of comedy - I have a really hard time with a lot of the embarrassment comedy that's popular over here (god, do not even mention Gervais in front of me), and I think Alan manages to be just enough over-the-top for me to actually find it funny.
posted by Katemonkey at 1:55 AM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

I love A Cock and Bull Story, such a funny movie.
posted by Pendragon at 3:09 AM on February 26, 2014

I liked Alpha Papa because I found it consistently funny, particularly in the first half, but it is hindered by the plot petering out about 15 minutes before it actually ends.

"Basic Alan" from series 1 of I'm Alan Partridge is one of my favorite sitcom episodes of all time.
posted by doctornecessiter at 4:16 AM on February 26, 2014

I enjoyed Alpha Papa but it was more of a 'better than I expected but not as good as I had hoped' situation. An early joke involving a pair of gloves was the only bit I properly laughed at, and I thought the end just tailed off into a disinterested conclusion, as if the writers had realised they were running out of screentime and needed to wrap things up quickly.
posted by permafrost at 4:18 AM on February 26, 2014

Fitting for Partridge that this is the second place in a week I have seen "web ring". Other was alt text on xkcd. "So you're not school kids?"
posted by stuartmm at 5:32 AM on February 26, 2014

Ccogan ...you mean the Ambaassador in Marie Antionette?
posted by The Whelk at 8:32 AM on February 26, 2014

I didn't even recognise him in Happy Endings until nearly the end.
posted by aesop at 4:04 AM on February 27, 2014