Search - Christopher Guest 3-Pack (A Mighty Wind / Waiting for Guffman / Best in Show) on DVD

Mockumentary classics

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Christopher Guest mockumentaries are, with half-sibling production "This is Spinal Tap," some of the most unique and hilarious comedies out there. "Waiting for Guffman" and "Mighty Wind" are unalloyed excellence, while "Best in Show" limps in places. But all three are entertaining and enjoyable.

"Waiting for Guffman" introduces us to the quirky but proud town of Blaine Missouri, the Stool Capital of the world and a pre-Roswell UFO landing site. Disillusioned writer Corky St. Claire sees the perfect vehicle to get back to Broadway: The town's anniversary celebration, which will now host a musical called "Red White and Blaine." Among the actors: A dentist who dreams of stardom, a husband-and-wife team, and a Dairy Queen clerk. The stakes are upped when Corky is told that they might end up on Broadway, if Mr. Guffman likes the performance...

Who is "Best in Show"? Hard to say. At a major dog show things start going wrong. Among the contestants: A yuppie couple who think they scarred their dog with their Kama Sutra sex, a rather dull ventriloquist hick with a bloodhound, a bored bubblebrain trophy wife with a poodle, a gay couple, and a guy with two left feet (literally) who is haunted by his wife's colorful past. As they arrive at a hotel for the competition, human neuroses threaten to derail the dogs...

"A Mighty Wind" is blowing through the folk music world. Guest gets himself back on track with this film. The great folk music icon Irving Steinbloom has just passed away, and his son Jonathan wants to pay tribute to his daddy with a special memorial concert. To do that, he calls together various quirky groups (and ex-groups) for one last concert: aging ex-lovers Mitch and Mickey, odd Folksmen, and the color-coordinated "New Main Street Singers." Let the show begin...

"Waiting" is absolutely hysterical, brimming over with quirky jokes and likable weird characters. "Mighty Wind," while not as good as "Guffman," is nevertheless quite engaging and full of giggle moments. Both are affectionate even as they poke fun at their subjects (small towns/musicals and folk music), like the pal who is a goofball even though you like him for his oddities. "Best," however, stumbles a bit. The stereotypes go over the top at times, and jokes become a little repetitive (like the ex-boyfriend-in-every-town joke). It's still amusing, just not up to Guest's usual standards.

Fans of those kooky rockers in "Spinal Tap" will eat up the Christopher Guest collection. Funny, weird, occasionally a little deranged, these three mockumentaries are definitely keepers."

Best of Guest!!

FilmFan | 08/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, "Best in Show" is definitely the best. The characters and story gel in a perfect comic concoction. "Best in Show" is very different than "Waiting for Guffman" (the first film in the Guest trilogy), although it brings back many of the same actors. While Guffman has a cruel streak in it, "Best in Show" is a little kinder to the characters it skewers -- without losing the laughs.

The third film in the trilogy (A Mighty Wind) departs from the formula quite a bit. More of a bittersweet drama, "Wind" is just not that funny.

If you are Jonesing for a mockumentary fix, search for "G-Sale" -- a quirky comedy very much in the Christopher Guest vein. It got a lot of great reviews and was even labeled "the movie Christopher Guest should have made instead of A Mighty Wind.""