There's a good reason some talent remains
undiscovered.
I recently
watched this film again...as I've read reviews,
seen ratings and read the numerous articles on
the most recent "A Mighty Wind," I found myself
wanting to give this film a fresh look.
I adore "Best in Show," but seemed to remember
being a bit disappointed with this film. Upon
second viewing, I remain a bit disappointed with
this film, though, I find it a solid piece of
entertainment. I am a fan of this sort of humor,
and individually I thought there were some
wonderful performances here including
Christopher Guest...this may be, in fact, my
favorite performance by Guest.
This film, for me, seems like a sibling of
another "small town production" film called
"Happy, Texas." I have a strong preference to
"Happy, Texas," which features incredible
performances by Steve Zahn and William H. Macy
along with a wider range of characterizations
and emotions that allowed for a more full
theatrical experience.
During my second viewing of this film, I
actually found myself stopping the video to take
a break during one of the more slowly paced
scenes. The advantage, in my view, of "A Mighty
Wind" over this film lies in the fact that there
is talent evident in "A Mighty Wind," while in
this film there is SO much of a lack of talent
for local theatre that it almost becomes
challenging to watch.
This is especially true during the slower paced
scenes. Still, this team of actors clearly works
well together and the chemistry is obvious.
Guest is wonderful as Corky St. Clair and is
strongly supported by Fred Ward, Catherine
O'Hara and Eugene Levy.
I'm a longtime fan of Parker Posey, and her
performance here is heartbreaking in many ways.
Her audition scene for the production is
priceless. Guest also directs the film, and
co-writes it with Eugene Levy.
This could explain why their roles seem the most
fully developed. Overall, fans of "Best in Show"
and "A Mighty Wind" would do themselves right by
catching this film. Fans of "Spinal Tap" are
likely to be a bit disappointed here. I wish
more filmmaking like this existed because in
this day of big budgets and special effects a
film like this is a breath of fresh air.
©
Written by Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
