Have to say, for me, that nothing will ever Christopher Guest's brilliant "Waiting for Guffman," but "A Mighty Wind" from 2003 is a fantastic mockumentary. I found it superior to "Best in Show."
This time it's a faux documentary on the reunion of '60s folk singers at Town Hall as a tribute to a late concert producer, Irving Steinbloom, arranged by his son (Bob Balaban). The performers include Mitch & Mickey, The Folksmen, and The New Main Street Singers. The cast is made up of many of Christopher Guest's repertory company: Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Michael Hitchcock, Parker Posey, Paul Dooley, and Paul Benedict; also Ed Begley Jr., Jane Lynch, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and John Michael Higgins.
There are some hilarious moments, but the best thing about this film is how Guest and other composers and lyricists have captured the music, mind-blowingly authentic, as are the groups. Everyone is terrific. Some standouts are: Ed Begley as Lars Olfen, using a Yiddish phrase or word several times a sentence; Catherine O'Hara as the Mickey of Mitch & Mickey, and her nearly brain-dead partner (Levy); and Jane Lynch and John Michael Higgins, an out-there couple who worship color. Balaban underplays and makes his role as the organizing son of the late, great Steinbloom totally believable and documentary-like.
If you haven't seen this, check it out, and remember (from the song "Old Joe's Place") Well ..there's a puppy in the parlor, And skillet on the stove, And a smelly old blanket, With a Navajo wove, There's a chicken on the table, But you got to say grace, There's always something cooking at, Old Joe's Place.
And at Christopher Guest's.
This time it's a faux documentary on the reunion of '60s folk singers at Town Hall as a tribute to a late concert producer, Irving Steinbloom, arranged by his son (Bob Balaban). The performers include Mitch & Mickey, The Folksmen, and The New Main Street Singers. The cast is made up of many of Christopher Guest's repertory company: Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Michael Hitchcock, Parker Posey, Paul Dooley, and Paul Benedict; also Ed Begley Jr., Jane Lynch, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and John Michael Higgins.
There are some hilarious moments, but the best thing about this film is how Guest and other composers and lyricists have captured the music, mind-blowingly authentic, as are the groups. Everyone is terrific. Some standouts are: Ed Begley as Lars Olfen, using a Yiddish phrase or word several times a sentence; Catherine O'Hara as the Mickey of Mitch & Mickey, and her nearly brain-dead partner (Levy); and Jane Lynch and John Michael Higgins, an out-there couple who worship color. Balaban underplays and makes his role as the organizing son of the late, great Steinbloom totally believable and documentary-like.
If you haven't seen this, check it out, and remember (from the song "Old Joe's Place") Well ..there's a puppy in the parlor, And skillet on the stove, And a smelly old blanket, With a Navajo wove, There's a chicken on the table, But you got to say grace, There's always something cooking at, Old Joe's Place.
And at Christopher Guest's.