Waiting for Guffman

The Bottom Line:

Slight but witty comedy with a suprising affection for its characters; its charm only grows with repeat viewings.

Great movie which basically does for community theater what Spinal Tap did to rock and roll.

Not quite as well done as Best in Show or a Mighty Wind, but still a classic.

"Waiting for Guffman" is Christopher Guest's hilarious faux documentary about community theater in the small little town of Blaine, Missouri. Guest himself plays Corky St Clair (recently of New York) who brings such classic hits as "Backdraft" to the stage, much to the consternation of the local fire department. Now Blaine wants to direct a production to celebrate its sesquicentennial. Corky makes it into a musical called "Red, White, and Blaine" and casts a motley troupe of local eccentrics much to the chagrin of the high school musical director. The wonderful thing about Christopher Guest's films like this one and Best in Show are the actors he uses, people like Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban, Eugene Levy, and Parker Posey. These actors are wonderful; they work together so well; and they make their characters quirky yet lovable!

This is a fine comedy movie from the Spinal Tap people. There are great one liners and a terrific cast. This is a small gem, a wonderful film.

Just to get it out of the way, I've ordered THIS IS SPINAL TAP and I know nothing about BEST IN SHOW.

It's a very fine balancing act, making a fake documentary which isn't farce, which is internally consistent and which could be true, in which every line is delivered "straight," and which is still quite funny. We get the joke because the characters don't. To pull this off requires great writing and great acting.

This film manages that balancing act, and the result is a DVD that I'm glad to own because I'll enjoy it again.