Describing a film as political satire immediately shuts out a good half of the cinema-going population too turned off politics by sleazy MPs and empty-talking ministers to want to spend their free time watching a movie about it.
So I won't call it that (though it is...). Though there is one group that need to be shut out when it comes to In The Loop and that's children - put the kids well out of earshot otherwise they'll be learning words and phrases rarely heard in dockyards, let alone playgrounds.
Written by Armando Iannucci (the man behind I'm Alan Partridge and hilarious news spoof The Day Today) and based on his BBC sitcom The Thick of It, it follows MP Simon Foster who unintentionally becomes a pawn for the anti-war brigade after a few well-meaning gaffes on national radio.
Simon heads on a trip to Washington which sees both sides trying to woo him as the man of the moment, while Machiavellian machinations go on behind closed doors, everyone tries to out-do everyone else and no one seems to be aged above 21.
Cue the arrival of Malcolm Tucker, the all-swearing, all-apoplectic commmunications chief for the British Prime Minister who proceeds to make verbal mincemeat of all those unfortunate to cross his path.
Of course, this isn't the only storyline but to try and encapsulate the multiple threads would take far too long and it's as hilarious trying to follow what's going on as it is trying to catch every Scottish syllable Malcolm drops. The verbal jousting left me wanting to press 'rewind' in the cinema, although on a second viewing I did get more of the priceless putdowns.
The stellar cast includes an amazing turn as a simmering soldier by James Gandolfini and sees My Girl child star Anna Chlumsky in her first great grown-up role, as well as Brit favourites Peter Capaldi, Gina McKee and Tom Hollander.
Timely and tightly written as well as moving at a breakneck pace, In The Loop won't relieve your cynicism about politics, nor will it give you a clearer understanding of how the world works.
Hugely grown-up by dealing with big issues like war and while also being ridiculously juvenile, it highlights the one thing we've known all along - that politicians know nothing. Everyone is such in a perpetual state of playing catch-up while trying to pretend they really are on top of everything, they reminded me of swans; all serene on the surface but paddling frantically underneath it.
Don't expect high-brow, or think that you need to know what's going on in UK/US politics to follow it as everyone is pitched in at the deep end.
That said, you're certain to leave the cinema with a few new choice swear-words under your belt, even if the worldwide political arena remains just as impenetrable.
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