In the Loop – 5 stars

In the Loop.  A very funny comedy about the run-up to a fictitious war (clearly meant to be Iraq) and the involvement of US and British civil servants in the process, which includes vicious political jockeying, abusive message control, mendacious leaks and biting insults.  It is the British The Office on steroids with any political import taking a very back seat to smart, crackling and hilarious writing.  Tom Hollander (Pirates of the Carribean and scene stealing as King George in HBO’s John Adams) is brilliant as a British minister out-of-his-depth and made a pawn, and James Gandolfini is also very good as an American general trying to slow down a march to war.