Waiting for Guffman
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Movie Reviews of Waiting for Guffman
Movie Review: "You will drool at the splendor of our magic stools!"
Summary: 5 Stars
The director/writer/actor Christopher Guest is entranced by the blessed state of cluelessness at the very margins of show business, and this film may be his masterpeice on the subject. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, of course, is about the production of an original musical, "Red, White and Blaine," to celebrate the sesquicentennial of a tiny town in Missouri, "the stool capital of the world." The musical has been written and is being directed by a town outsider, Corky St. Clair (Guest in a favorite role he's played before under other circumstances), whom the townspeople just adore, and he has cast several of them in his little repertoire. The great humor of the piece, of course, is in how self-deluded the Blaineites are about both Corky's and their own abilities, but the joke never seems either one-note nor cruel. Guest's genius is in allowing his characters to be silly without ever being truly pathetic: he allows them their dignity, even in the silly-great sequence where they audition for the musical. (Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard, as "the Lunts of Blaine," are especially funny here in their characters' audition piece, a combination of a Taster's Choice commercial and "Midnight at the Oasis.") You wonder how Guest will top this sequence, but he does with the musical itself which is both hilarious goony and also somehow transcendent at the same time. You laugh at the completely blissed-out reaction of the Blaine city council members sitting in the audience (most memorably Michael Hitchcock), but you also identify with their joy at some level too.
An added bonus on this DVD are several of the songs from "Red, White and Blaine" Guest felt compelled to cut, including the haunting and hysterically complicated "Nothing Ever Happens in Blaine" which had to be excised from the main version (so as not to condescend to the town) but which is wonderful to see nonetheless... if only for Catherine O'Hara's amazing way of dancing in high heels with her knees bend inwards.
Movie Review: A comic gem worth savoring several times.
Summary: 5 Stars
Waiting for Guffman as the descriptions you should have read previous to this one indicate is a 'mock-u-mentary' type of film that focuses on the 250th celebration of the town of Blaine and the original musical play being staged as part of the celebrations.Waiting for Guffman is that rare film that allows us to laugh
at ourselves or at least people we all know and have seen
or perhaps live next door to.
Christopher Guest has also created one of the most memorable
and wonderful characters for himself with Corky St. Clair -- the eternal optimist.
Guests' more recent "Best of Show" doesn't quite have the delicate balance that this film has in being affectionate toward it's character as opposed to just making fun of certain types of characters. In Guffman, there's more of an acceptance and affection for the characters. We truly believe they exist and are allowed to laugh usually with and yes sometimes at them. In Best of Show we are basically laughing at the pretty ridiculous cast of characters we watch.
Both are funny films of course, but Guffman is better because it delivers interesting characters not just caricatures. Guffman also refuses to go for the big belly laugh at the expense of
losing a character's authenticity. It's humor is gentler but even funnier because of it.
It's a film you'll enjoy watching several times and the DVD features a sporadically interesting feature commentary by Guest and former SCTV alumni Eugene Levy as well as slightly more than 30 minutes worth of deleted scenes. There's a wonderful sequence which includes a whole musical number cut from the film that is
a particular delight to anyone who enjoys the film.
Movie Review: All hail the King of the Mockumentary!
Summary: 5 Stars
Christopher Guest, I'm convinced, is the King of the Mockumentary. After all, this guy co-wrote Spinal Tap. Waiting for Guffman, however, is my favorite Christopher Guest movie so far. I've watched it over and over, and I never get sick of it.Guest plays Corky St. Clair, an actor who gave up his life acting in the Big Apple "off-off-off-off-Broadway" and settles in the small but fascinating town of Blaine, Missouri (famous for its nit-wit founder, its production of stools, and its alien sightings). Blaine is preparing for their big sesquicentennial celebration, and Corky is directing the musical production, Red, White, and Blaine, starring the local dentist (co-writer Eugene Levy), the town's singing and dancing travel agents (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), a Dairy Queen counter girl (Parker Posey), and a mechanic (Matt Keeslar). Corky's convinced that the production will be absolutely spectacular, so he invites New York talent scouts to come and check it out. And when one, Mr. Mort Guffman, announces that he plans to attend, rehearsals get even more intense for the stars of the Stool Capital of America.
Waiting for Guffman is side-ache hilarious. Christopher Guest is outstanding as Corky, the flamboyant drama queen. He's sure to make you laugh out loud every time he appears on the screen. And while the rest of the cast just adds to the hilarity of it all, Corky steals the show. He alone makes this movie worthy of a place in your DVD collection.
Movie Review: Its the day of the show, y'all.
Summary: 5 Stars
And what a fabulous show it is, too. I have done a bit of community theatre myself, and Guffman has only served to help me appreciate it all the more. When i first saw Waiting for Guffman, I laughed harder than i had ever laughed at a movie. The second time i saw it, i laughed so hard i couldn't breathe and i nearly wet myself. Christopher Guest is perfect as Corky St. Claire, and if you have seen him in ...Spinal Tap or Princess Bride or Best in Show, you know how much he immerses himself in a role, i have trouble telling that he's the same actor in any of the parts. And each one is played to perfection, with my favorite being Corky, the big city man, come to bring culture to the backwoods Blainians. Parker Posey is likewise perfect as the daft Libby Mae Brown. I can see how people could see this show as boring, but certainly it is not unimaginative, if you know anyone who is anything like these people. If you have seen the number of locally made commercials that i have seen, you know how people turn in front of a camera, and all of these people do it perfectly... Not enough can be said, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, and especially Linda Kash (Mrs. Allan Pearl).
You must purchase the DVD edition of this movie, it has the best supply of deleted scenes that i have seen. You will cry when you hear Corky talking about riding the sperm whale or the Shirley Temple dress.
Movie Review: Beyond Side-Splitting
Summary: 5 Stars
Blaine, Missouri, the proud Stool Capital of the World, is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and to honor the town and its momentous anniversary, the locals decide to put on a play.Once again, the comedic genius of Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy comes to the fore as we watch the auditions, the rehearsals and the actual play itself. The mock-documentary style so perfected by Guest is perfect in this outing, as the straight-faced, oh-so-serious townspeople discuss themselves, their town (whose history is so funny that I was literally yelping with laughter) and the play.
And who is Guffman? A real-life Broadway producer, who is coming to view the show...and who knows what this could lead to? Outstanding acting by Catherine O'Hara, Guest, Levy, and all the usual ensemble makes for a comedic masterpiece. Keep your hand on the remote control, however. The dialogue is so funny that you may find yourself rewinding to hear the bits you've missed--over and over again.
The deleted scenes are as good as the movie, and provide so much enjoyment on their own that they should be released as a separate entity! Ditto for the oh-so-serious voice-over commentary by writers (and actors) Guest and Levy. This DVD is simply a treat from end to end.
This 1997 outing is as good, in my view, as the brilliant "A Mighty Wind," and certainly worthy of "This Is Spinal Tap." A must-have!