I love this movie, too! It is not for those who want a slick and scripted product but if you enjoy watching good actors play with characters you'll probably like this one a lot. The plot is this: A struggling off-Broadway director (Christopher Guest) find himself in a small and very strange little town using local talent to put on an historical drama. When he learns that a Broadway producer is sending someone (Mr Guffman) to see the production, he, the cast, and the whole town suddenly sense the possibility of being in the national spotlight. The result of this pseudo-documentary is a cast of over-the-top deeply flawed characters who say completely unexpected and outrageous things that, within the context of the film, are actually believable. Most of the actors portray characters we have seen them do many times before but, "Waiting for Guffman" allows them to take those familiar characters to places they've never been on the screen. Catherine O'Hara and Parker Posey do especially nice work. Nothing heavy, no real messages, lots of fun.
Reviews
5 Reviews
Around the Bend
(2004)
It's what families do
28 April 2006
Father-son movies can quickly turn into sappy soap operas. Grandfather-father-son-grandson movies can drown you in cheap syrup. You gotta watch 'em. Around The Bend, though, keeps it grit and its soul right to the bitter-sweet end. The actors - Michael Caine, Christopher Walken, John Lucas and Jonah Bobo - are completely at home in their rolls. The writing is intelligent and real. If you've traveled the American West, the people and places along the road to hopeful redemption are familiar. Unless you were born of angels, so are the main characters.
Take a good story, weave a perfect rock and roll soundtrack through it and stuff it into a Kentucky Fried Chicken sack. Now load it into a junkie old VW bus and sprinkle it very lightly with magic dust. What you got is a trip to someplace worth going. I love this movie!
Take a good story, weave a perfect rock and roll soundtrack through it and stuff it into a Kentucky Fried Chicken sack. Now load it into a junkie old VW bus and sprinkle it very lightly with magic dust. What you got is a trip to someplace worth going. I love this movie!
Smoke Signals
(1998)
A Fine Day To Be Indigenous
21 April 2006
This is one of those rare movies that pushes a lot of my buttons without resorting to cheap clichés to do it. It is beautifully filmed around the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Idaho and the Arizona desert, with a bit of Pacific Northwest thrown in. It is often funny both from obvious stuff that everyone can understand and much more subtle stuff that sneaks up on you. The characters are multi-dimensional and the acting is excellent.
I often recommend this movie to friends but find it really difficult to respond to the inevitable, "So what's it about" question. It's about a lot of different things that are all intimately connected into one thing that everyone recognizes. (Try explaining that to some of my friends!)
On the surface, it's a coming of age movie and, although the characters deal with issues common to most coming of age movies, they do it within the framework of a modern Indian Reservation culture where tradition and pride are strong, and, for many, all they have left. It is not an "Indian" movie but it has a strong and pleasing Indian flavor. It's a movie version of lunch at the Tuba City Truck Stop.
I am especially impressed with the Thomas-Builds-A-Fire character played by Evan Adams. Thomas' unfailing good humor and magnificent smile light up the whole movie. His determination to carry on the Native American oral tradition allows him to maintain a constant stream of observations, parables and stories about everything - many of which are funny, most of which are strangely deep and poignant, and all of which are unfailingly honest. Although these unending observations drive his would-be buddy Victor nuts, they constitute nothing less than true wisdom. Keep an eye on Gary Farmer, too. He does an excellent job in the difficult role of Victor's alcoholic and overwhelmed father.
If you like movies that are about a lot of real things, I recommend Smoke Signals. Like lunch at the Tuba City Truck Stop, it isn't fancy but it is great fun, very real, and you will leave feeling not only warm and satisfied but that you've learned something that you probably need to know. Enjoy.
I often recommend this movie to friends but find it really difficult to respond to the inevitable, "So what's it about" question. It's about a lot of different things that are all intimately connected into one thing that everyone recognizes. (Try explaining that to some of my friends!)
On the surface, it's a coming of age movie and, although the characters deal with issues common to most coming of age movies, they do it within the framework of a modern Indian Reservation culture where tradition and pride are strong, and, for many, all they have left. It is not an "Indian" movie but it has a strong and pleasing Indian flavor. It's a movie version of lunch at the Tuba City Truck Stop.
I am especially impressed with the Thomas-Builds-A-Fire character played by Evan Adams. Thomas' unfailing good humor and magnificent smile light up the whole movie. His determination to carry on the Native American oral tradition allows him to maintain a constant stream of observations, parables and stories about everything - many of which are funny, most of which are strangely deep and poignant, and all of which are unfailingly honest. Although these unending observations drive his would-be buddy Victor nuts, they constitute nothing less than true wisdom. Keep an eye on Gary Farmer, too. He does an excellent job in the difficult role of Victor's alcoholic and overwhelmed father.
If you like movies that are about a lot of real things, I recommend Smoke Signals. Like lunch at the Tuba City Truck Stop, it isn't fancy but it is great fun, very real, and you will leave feeling not only warm and satisfied but that you've learned something that you probably need to know. Enjoy.
Finding Graceland
(1998)
Help Can Come From Unexpected Places
21 April 2006
"Finding Graceland" is a sweet, fascinating movie that will take you through a whole landscape of unlikely characters who show up unexpectedly and manage to leave their perfect gifts behind. It is a road movie in which the adventures are spiritual. When Keitel announces that he is Elvis, you suspect that he is delusional but, before the movie ends he will convince you that what you think you know is not necessarily the way things are. Keitel is wonderful at playing tough guys but I think he really shines as an actor in his smaller and more low-key movies like this one and Smoke. The cast is excellent - some playing celebrity impersonators who are real, complex human beings with personalities of their own. Bridget Fonda as a tender, almost motherly, Marilyn Monroe is great fun to watch. I've seen this movie several times and it holds up well, always revealing new layers of story and message. Wonderful scenery, a classy car, excellent performances, and a quirky plot make this a worthwhile movie to watch. Maybe even to watch over and over. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Bandits
(2001)
One Last Big Score
18 April 2006
The story of two unlikely bank robbers, a sexy accomplice, and a would-be movie stunt man who come together for one last big score. The story is complex enough to keep your attention right up until the surprise ending. Beyond that, though, this is an ensemble character study with four wonderful actors and it is a pleasure to watch them work. Bruce Willis is a tough guy with a believable sensitive side. Billy Bob Thornton is a hypochondriac with a penchant for making trivial observations at extremely critical times. Billy Bob enjoys doing different characters and this is a memorable one. Cate Blanchett is a beautiful woman running from a failed marriage who falls in love with both men. Troy Garity is a cowboy stunt man whose lapses in judgment are made forgivable by his love for his work. This is, for Garity, a very different character from role in "Barbershop". The movie is beautifully filmed in interesting places and there are even a few classy automobiles around. If you enjoy a good story, some action, and good actors working well together, I recommend that you rent this one.
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