Waiting for Guffman
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Movie Reviews of Waiting for Guffman
Movie Review: Absolutely hilarious
Summary: 5 Stars
Waiting for Guffman is an awesomely funny movie! It's shot just like a low cost documentary would be shot - awkward transitions, bumbling soliloquies and strange zoom action. The characters are wonderful. Guest got everything just right from the travel agent wearing white athletic socks with his loafers to the over-exuberant Blaine Community Players. The movie was full of slapstick humor along with witty, thoughtful humor as well.
What's great about this movie as well is that you're not just laughing at the characters, you're getting excited about the Blaine Sesquecentennial right along with them! The songs are catchy (in a frighteningly annoying kind of way), and you find yourself tapping your foot along with the song and dance review.
If you have seen other Guest movies, I would say this one ranks in the middle for me (Best in Show is my favorite, Waiting for Guffman, then A Mighty Wind). I think this one captured the excitement and hilarity of small-town pride and revelry. Loved it! Favorite line: "I hate you, you... bastard people... You're all bastard people!"
Movie Review: incredibly funny mockumentary with so-so dvd extras
Summary: 5 Stars
Christopher Guest has created a classic character, Corky St. Clair, who has returned to Blaine, Missouri, (after failing to thrive in NYC) to direct the commemorative show "Red, White and Blaine" in this classic mockumentary about the "stool capital of the world's" 150th anniversary. Co-written with Eugene Levy and also starring Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban and Parker Posey, this story of small-town no-talents putting on a show and waiting for New York producer Mort Guffman to come review it will have you rolling on the floor.The dvd extras are pretty good, though not stellar: a commentary track with star/writers Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy gets better as the film progresses; 7 deleted scenes with optional commentary; several behind-the-scenes stills; a list of the cast and crew; and a trailer. The film can be heard only in English; subtitles are in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese.
This is a terrific film with a great cast, but the dvd extras are disappointing.
Movie Review: A Modern Classic That Salutes/Roasts Community Theater
Summary: 5 Stars
If you work in ANY branch of live theater, this is the film for you. Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy have written and produced an astonishingly funny and (every now and then) slightly heartbreaking look at the labor pains and triumphant birth of a musical just cheesey enough AND just good enough to make us stand and cheer with the rest of Blaine's audience. Where were the Oscar nominations for these performances? Christopher Guest's Corky St. Clair is broad and multi-layered and very human even at his most absurd; Eugene Levy's Dr. Pearl is quietly and awkwardly hilarious; and Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard are nothing short of brilliant as a cheery married couple (the local travel agents-slash stage stars, or "The Lunts of Blaine" as Corky calls them) with a sad, dark side. This was not a major hit in the theaters (it's too smart to appeal to the masses), and so it's not so easy to find in video stores. If you're a fan of live theater, though, you MUST add this to your VHS library.Movie Review: Permanently Clueless and Wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
If you think in terms of laughs per dollar spent, this movie is very economical because it provides laughs on many different levels. First, the jokes are funny in themselves. Who can forget Guest's character developing a dance routine? Then it is funny making fun of making fun of these characters and their situations (the trials and tribulations of community theater in general). And then I find it even funnier as a metaphor for the ridiculous in just getting by in life doing the best we can while thinking we might actually know something (thinking some bit time outsider can really change your life and who you are).This is a movie about the Permanently Clueless in each of us and I love it. It is a classic that is worth seeing again and again. There aren't many comedies that really hold up over time. This does (as do other Guest films).
Knowing that the dialogue is largely improvised makes me even more in awe of the actors and their ability to come up with this wonderfully weird stuff.
Movie Review: An Absolute Gem!
Summary: 5 Stars
With all the moronic "gross-out" comedies and pointless sequels that Hollywood churns out these days, it really is refreshing to see a funny, original film like this one. Christopher Guest's portrayal of Corky St. Clair is nothing short of brilliant. I agree completely with one of the other reviewers who said that the film must be seen more than once to fully appreciate it. In fact, when I first saw the film, I did not like it as much as Christopher Guest's other classic mockumentary, "Best in Show". After several viewings, however, I liked it just as much. Although I have never been involved in community theater, and I did not instantly recognize the characters in this film, the film is a wonderful satire of small town America which everyone can appreciate. I had no idea until fairly recently that this superb film even existed, which is shameful. Its too bad that Hollywood buries such movies under big piles of trash which it aims at the lowest common demoninator.