Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I love WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, and I love BEST IN SHOW. As much as I trust Christopher Guest and the ensemble of comic performers that he’s put together over the course of those first few films, I’m not so sure the world of folk singing is something I want to see explored in a mockumentary. Still, I’m curious, so I was pleased to see reviews start pouring in last night.
First up, we’ve got The Six-Fingered Man...
“A Mighty Wind”
directed by Christopher Guest
“A Mighty Wind” is the next installment in what is fast becoming the most specific directorial niche in cinema. Christopher Guest, the man behind the mockumentaries “Waiting for Guffman” and “Best in Show,” has gathered the old gang together for his latest satirical/affectionate look at an under-the-radar American group. Before, it was community theater and dog shows. This time, it’s folk singers.
In brief: one of the great folk music promoters has died, and his children attempt to gather his three biggest acts for a reunion concert. Each band has their own idiosyncrasies, and hijinks ensue. The film is a faux documentary, relying heavily on improvisation.
All the Guest regulars are here: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, and Fred Willard, just to name a few. In fact, Guest’s films are becoming more and more like home movies – “Let’s get everyone together, hang out, and what the hell – shoot a feature film!” At this point, Guest and company can do this in their sleep. It’s no big surprise, then, that some of the actors do seem to nod off at points. Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard, in particular, seem to be playing the same characters from “Best in Show,” albeit with different haircuts.
Don’t get me wrong – “A Mighty Wind” is funny. But it’s not funny. Not one of the characters is nearly as sidesplitting as Corky St. Clair from “Guffman,” or Fred Willard’s dim-witted emcee from “Best in Show.” Even the filmmakers seem to be aware of this, falling back on recycled jokes they know will hit the mark: one character suddenly becomes a transvestite; another has a porn star past. This stuff is humorous, but fans will recall very similar bits from previous movies.
There are a few strong moments. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara play a former “Sonny & Cher”-style folk couple that split 30 years ago. A brief history of Levy’s post-break-up songs (“Wish You Were Dead” is one) earns one of the biggest laughs. Another highlight is the music itself: a flawless, toe-tapping spoof of the real thing. Listen specifically to the title song, which features a lyric equal to the humor of Spinal Tap’s “Break like the Wind.”
Unlike the subjects of “Guffman” or “Best in Show,” Guest seems to have a real affection for folk music. The songs are great, and three bands are an homage to actual folk groups such as the Kingston Trio. The climax of the movie, in fact, hinges around a tender, absolutely sincere moment. Not quite what we’re expecting from a “nothing is sacred” crowd like this, but it proves that breaking the formula works.
If only there were more unique bits throughout. I’m glad Guest and his stable of actors enjoy working with each other, but here’s hoping their next outing is a little more daring.
Hmmm... a little troubling. Maybe AKASoze, one of our semi-regular reviewers, has a different take on things...
This is a mini-review - sorry. Christopher Guest's new mockumentary is about 3 aging 60s folk groups coming together for a tribute the the recently-deceased manager of them all. Unfortunately, it's just not all that funny. The test screening was only 85 minutes long, which leads me to believe the finished film will be even shorter (considering how many deleted scenes there are on the "best in show" and "waiting for guffman" dvds - not to mention the 90 minutes of extra footage in Reiner's "This is Spinal Tap"). Anyway, most of the fun from this movie comes from seeing the classic Guest actors here show up in new roles, and most of them do a fine job acting, but there's just not that much comedy here - not none, mind you, just not enough cinsidering how funny Guest's other films have been. Luckily Fred Williard is funny as shit in this movie - and Eugene Levy, while not hysterical, is just a joy to watch. His character has suffered many a breakdown and plays his part with an almost spot-on imitation as the dad from "Alf" (voice-wise). This film is sweeter than his other films and the chemistry between Levy and his singing partner (Catherine O'Hara) is fun to watch as well. Parker Posey is a great actress, and pretty wasted in this film - she has only one scene to herself. What's really fun about this movie is that they finally have included Harry Shearer again. He, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean make up "The Folksmen" - and each pretty much play the same instruments they did in "This is Spinal Tap." An interesting note - during "Spinal Tap's" recent real-life tour (yes, they had one) the opening band (and this was about a year ago) was the three of them as "The Folksmen," obviously testing out their material because anyone who saw the show will recognize a number of the jokes from this film.
There really aren't a lot of "misses" here as far as the jokes, I think what they intended to be funny, is pretty funny, there just doesn't seem to be much that they intended to be funny - but Guest's appearingly pissed-off attitude after the screening got out tells me maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was supposed to play funnier.
Anyway - long live Fred Willard! But maybe this should be the final chapter in the Christopher Guest Trilogy of Comedy. Sorry Chris, no offense.
AKASoze
Yikes. These are hard films to make, and going back to the well three times might have finally pushed these performers a little too far. Still, we’ve got a couple more reviews to check out...
Harry-
First time writer, long time fan.
I happened to catch a preview screening of A Mighty Wind last night. The film completes Christopher Guest's mockumentary trilogy and plays almost like a greatest hits of the genre Guest helped form. Pretty much every actor from Guffman and Best in Show has a part in A Mighty Wind.
The story concerns three folk groups that reunite for a concert in honor of their late manager. The Spinal Tap boys (Guest, Harry Shearer, and Mike McKean) are reincarnated as The Folksman. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are paired as Mitch and Mickey. And pretty much everyone else (including Parker Posey) is shoehorned into the nine member New Main Street Singers. Bob Balaban plays the manager's son who is trying to put together the show. Ed Begley Jr. rediscovers his funny bone while playing a PBS directory (who happens to be both Swedish and Jewish).
Unfortunately with so many characters, we don't get to spend time with many individuals. Posey and Guest are sadly relegated to the background while some lesser comedic talents get moved to center stage. Fred Willard has a small role as the manager of the New Main Street Singers and, as usual, steals the movie. Levy, in a role much different than his previous turns, shines as a drugged out folkster who seems to be channeling the spirit of Jerry Garcia.
Whatever minor concerns I have about A Wind, this is a hilarious movie. Not yet up to Guffman or Best in Show standards, but still much better than any comedy I've seen this year. The end concert is a great set piece that brings together the entire cast. And we end with a group rendetion of "A Mighty Wind" which has the lines - "A mighty wind is blowing, blowing across the sea. A mighty wind is blowing, blowing you and me."
The film doesn't come out until April, so expect a lot of tweaking in the meantime. But this is definitely one movie you need to see. We all owe Christopher Guest so much.
Marty Dibergi
Okay. There’s some enthusiasm. Let’s see if our last reviewer feels the same way...
It's been too long Harry, but I'm happy to report that I'm back with something that I, at least, was rather hyped up about seeing: A Mighty Wind. It's the latest from Christopher Guest, the genius behind the three fantastic mockumentaries. For the uninitiated, they are This Is Spinal Tap (one of the funniest movies of all time, in my opinion), Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show. All three movies are absolutely hilarious in parts, and A Mighty Wind is certainly not devoid of laughs, either. But whereas the other three were fresh and inspired, A Mighty Wind seems more like the players are on auto-pilot. Basically, this is the same cast as both Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman, but there are too many of them, and they're all fighting for screentime.
The worst part is that the cast is both talented and completely wasted. Fred Willard, who was so memorable as the commentator in Best in Show, brightens up the screen every second he's on it, but it doesn't amount to much. Likewise for Parker Posey, who has clearly shown talent before, but is given exactly zero to work with here. But it's redundant to single these people out, because almost everyone with any screen time here deserves more material. Unlike the previous films, where the characters were all fully developed, even while we were laughing at them, A Mighty Wind reduces them all to caricatures with funny accents, make-up, or both.
Especially disappointing in this, however, is Eugene Levy. While he's known for playing the same character over and over again (the geeky guy in glasses), he's doing something different here. It's hard to accurately describe, and he pulls it off, but the way he speaks is simply irritating. He's the most developed character in the entire ensemble cast, but every time he speaks, it feels like when a dentist is drilling your teeth, and then slips. Okay, that's a slight hyperbole.
Mind you, the movie is still very, very funny, but the formula's starting to get old. Structurally, it's identical to both Guffman and Best in Show, with three separate groups of folk singers coming together for a memorial performance. Even down to the six months later epilogue, the plot structure of the three movies is identical. And while I don't go into a Christopher Guest movie expecting Elmore Leonard-esque plotting, a little more innovation would be nice.
The movie ran very short (less than 90 minutes), and was fairly well paced. The audience seemed to consist mainly of fans of Guest's previous work (they cheered at the first appearances of all the character actors) and the laughs were pretty consistent throughout, but the movie left me feeling disappointed. Yes, it was quite funny, but it's been reduced to simply schtick. The movie feels like it was made just because the group wanted to follow up Best in Show. They are mostly having fun, but there's no comic genius behind the premise. The movie is put together without any creativity and while there are definitely laughs to be had in the moments, as a whole, the main word that comes to mind is... unfortunately, disappointing.
Granted, a lot of tinkering is required for a movie like this, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the theatrically released version end up much better. Unfortunately, the problems I had with it can be found more at the base of the movie's structure than with the tiny touches and are unlikely to end up very different in the finished product. It's a small slip-up for the team, and I can only hope that they'll be back with something a little more daring next time around.
- The Quick Brown Fox
Wow. Well, this certainly isn’t the word I wanted to hear back on this one. These guys all sound like fans, too, so I don’t think we can just dismiss them out of hand. Here’s hoping Chris Guest is able to continue to polish the film and find a real gem in it in the months ahead...
"Moriarty" out.
