It is much more challenging to write a favorable movie review than an unfavorable one. Sure, it’s easy to nitpick and complain for hours over poorly-made films, but to spend the same space gushing over a movie’s strong points is for some reason much more challenging.

As you may have guessed by the intro, I liked this week’s campus film, “In the Loop.” In fact, I really liked it. “In the Loop” is one of the first actually funny comedies I’ve seen in awhile – and in a week where I thought nothing could make me laugh, that is saying a lot. The 106 minutes of fast-paced political conniving and foul-mouthed insults had enough content and energy to fill an entire television season.

The chaos begins when the British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster (played by Tom Hollander) fumbles over double negatives and winds up saying that a war is on its way. Soon the anti-war politician gets caught up in a whirlwind of interviews and demands on both sides of the Atlantic, both from officials gunning for war and from fellow anti-war sympathizers. The actual international conflict situation is left decidedly vague (no “enemy” countries are actually named), but it isn’t difficult to draw parallels to events in the last decade of world history.

“In the Loop” features a talented ensemble of actors who are given superb, witty dialog, and every actor seems to be genuinely enjoying the gig. Although there are many things to hate about each pathetic character on screen, you will love to hate them. Even the film’s most despicable characters are fun to watch.

Unfortunately, this general abundance of ridiculous characters ultimately became a weak point as the movie progressed. Like most satires, each character is flawed to a degree (some more than others), and there are no real protagonists in this story. While this adds to the laughs, it detracts from the film’s stakes: why should I care how this mess ends when I don’t care about any of the characters? It’s almost like watching the television show “The Office,” if every character on “The Office” was Michael Scott (or Ricky Gervais’ David Brent in the British equivalent). But despite losing some momentum, the movie is funny up until the bitter end, even beyond the start of the credits.

If you feel like things have been a little out-of-control lately, check out “In the Loop” this weekend in the Davies Theatre. I’ve always found that laughing at other people’s stupidity is a good way to feel better about your life.