Knowing me, knowing you, A-HA! After making his screen debut nearly twenty years ago in The Day Today, hapless TV personality Alan Partridge has endured a career of highlights and (more) lowlights in which he reached his peak in the hysterical sitcom I’m Alan Partridge (1996-2002). But now his shot at the big-screen is finally here as creator Armando Innauuci and original actor Steve Coogan return to bring the iconic British comedy character back to life and in full-on action mode in the aptly-named Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Forget the cheese-smelling and kissing people’s faces, it’s time for the Partridge to take flight….

SYNOPSIS: In his hometown of Norwich, radio DJ Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) learns that his station North Norfolk Digital is about to be taken over by corporation giant Gordale Media. He manages to avoid losing his job when he vouches for fellow DJ Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) to be dismissed instead but the Irishman clearly takes the news badly. When the company celebrate the takeover with an evening party, a deranged Pat storms into the building armed with a shotgun and takes a group of people hostage while Alan is outside. Realising his predicament, Alan flees the scene but is then requested by police to work as a point man between them and Pat. The hapless ex-TV personality must try to persuade his former colleague to give up the siege knowing that other people’s lives are at risk.

Only a buffoonish character like Alan Partridge could find himself caught up in a story involving madmen, shotguns and hostages. While it may sound far-fetched to various audiences, there was no doubt that Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan had some bizarre ideas for the big-screen adaption and it actually ends up working very well. The pair manage to incorporate nods to previous heist films like Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Network (1976) particularly the latter’s case with its references to media corporations taking over and staff members rebelling against the system. There is even a clever nod to Falling Down (1993) which sees Alan and Pat have a face-off on the pier in the film’s ‘dramatic’ showdown. But away from the action, it is the laughs which are the key factor and it’s great to see our favourite radio DJ become the latest comedy individual to make a successful transition to film (which previously worked out well for other British sitcoms like The Thick of It and The Inbetweeners). As was the case in the television series, the film relies on dark humour and cringe-worthy exchanges to make us laugh even when some of the jokes get a tad controversial e.g. Pat talking about his wife being buried at sea which triggers a classic Alan response: “Like Bin-Laden?”. All the classic Alanisms are here too such as his smug attitude about having the last laugh even when conversing with the police and also finding himself in tricky predicaments like losing his trousers while trying to climb out a window or being on the wrong end of a toilet. That’s why it’s such a ruddy relief to see Coogan back to his hilarious best as the film allows him to show off the multi-layered personalities that Alan has become iconic for. But at the same time, you sense that he is not as vindictive and bitter as he was in the classic sitcom which can be put down to the way Coogan has matured the character especially in the recent spin-off series, Mid-Morning Matters. A major example of this comes in his lovely sub-plot with colleague and potential love-interest Angela (Monica Dolan) as the pair flirt saucily in a disabled toilet. However he still likes to treat certain people badly particularly his long-suffering P.A Lynn who bears the brunt of abuse yet finally stands up to Alan in one of the film’s more touching scenes between the pair. On the subject of Lynn, it’s nice to see her and a few other classic Partridge characters show their faces including the dimwitted Michael (Simon ‘Compare the Meerkat’ Greenall) and Alan’s former DJ rival Dave Clifton (Phil Cornwell). New to the world of AP is the experienced Irish actor Colm Meaney as he puts empathy into his role as the desperate has-been Pat but never goes too far in making him an over-the-top madman.

However a potential problem for the film is that non-Partridge fans may struggle to get the humour that made the sitcom a cult classic. This can be put down to some jokes falling a little flat and some of the dialogue being far too random for conventional comedy fans. Even the most adoring Partridge fans will have a hard time getting used to the big-screen format especially when the documentary element worked so well in the much-loved series as Alan’s idiocy worked more realistically when placed in awkward situations filmed on camera. The film’s actual siege also lacks a severe amount of tension which can be put down to the satirical narrative but at the same time you never really sense anything bad will happen to certain characters.

VERDICT: Alan Partridge fans rejoice, Alpha Papa is lovely stuff as Norwich’s favourite son makes a cracking big-screen debut in this witty and slapstick outing that may not be for everyone but it succeeds where other comedies this year failed. Back of the net!