Waiting for Guffman (1996)

Classic Christopher Guest directing, excellent improv acting, hilarious songs during the play in the movie, and a great start to a line of movies that Guest directed in this way. Notable scenes: Eugene Levy's impression of Johnny Carson's impression of an Indian, Catherine O'Hara's bangs (straight up!), the first of Fred Willard's impressions of how TV personalities talk (which he later reprised in "A Mighty Wind"), Parker Posey's character talking ad nauseum about Dairy Queen creations, and Eugene Levy's martian song at the play. Too many parts to mention here, you'll just have to see for yourself.It should be noted that the Family Guy character of Bruce sounds exactly like Guest's Corky St. Clair. This is one of the better Guest movies to watch, so I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Thanks be to cable for reviving this very non-commercial film. It's a sweet send-up of small town America that comes across like an extended version of Second City Review or Saturday Night Live. Sure, some of the parody is pointed, but it's never mean-spirited. Blaine, Missouri, in the heart of the state, is having its 150th anniversary, and by golly the town's theatrical types are going to do it up right. Never mind that the talent is spread pretty thin from the stage struck town dentist (Eugene Levy), to travel agents (Fred Willard & Catherine O'Hara), to Dairy Queen princess (Parker Posey). Or that their inspiration comes from an off- off-off Broadway impresario (Christopher Guest), "temporarily on leave" from the Big Apple. He may not be your typical macho mid-western type, but he did serve on a destroyer and does have a wife, somewhere, so he says.It's all handled with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek, as we watch the cast lumber, stagger, and flounce through their dance routines and dream of Real stage success. Naturally, we expect the final result, the pageant performance before the whole town, to nose-dive., But it doesn't. Instead, the stage performance comes across rather sweetly, with just the right amount of unpolished success that brings the whole town to its feet in a boffo finale. What happens then is comical and not too surprising, considering all the low rent motels surrounding Hollywood. Levy, Willard, and the others are uniformly excellent as would be expected of veteran sketch artists. I don't know who to thank for the movie that had no obvious future, commercial or otherwise. But for darn sure this little sleeper goes into my tape library for repeated viewing.

Christopher Guest is a comedic genius. It's as simple as that. His part-improv mockumentaries are some of the best comedies in recent cinematic history. 'Waiting for Guffman' is the first.The film focuses on the small-town of Blaine's sesquicentennial (that's 150th) celebration and the original play 'Red, White, and Blaine.' Blaine, MO, is, as everyone knows. . . the stool capital of the world. By 'stool,' I mean the one you sit on. Not the, well, you get it.Complications arise in the production when Broadway announces they're sending a representative (Guffman, as the title suggests) to see the show with the chance of sending it to New York City! However, Corky (Christopher Guest), the off-off-off-off Broadway director in charge of the production, (briefly) leaves the production due to financial complications between him and the town council.Things eventually start to run smooth, however, and the production goes on for the town, and it's a good one at that! Great performances by the usual cast (Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Guest, and Parker Posey) make this film one comedy (deeper than most, I must mention). Do not 'Wait'! Final verdict: 9/10.-AP3-

"Waiting for Guffman" may just be that rare thing: the perfect comedy.It's brilliantly (and I don't use that word lightly) written and acted. I think it would be easy to dismiss the talent that went into this film, because it looks so effortless on screen, but you would have to be a wonderful actor to make material this subtle and dead pan work as well as it does here."Guffman" is better than any of the follow up films Christopher Guest and his recurrent ensemble have made since because it doesn't stretch itself too thin. Guest focuses on a handful of main characters, and all of his other players get much smaller but no less hysterical roles to play. This is in sharp contrast to his most recent movie, "For Your Consideration," in which he tries to give everyone equal screen time with the results being that everyone gets short changed.I grew up in a tiny town of 500 people in rural Illinois, and I remember our town celebrating its bicentennial. We even had a little pageant full of skits (I had a part in it myself). And I have to say that it was EXACTLY like this movie. The actors don't even have to exaggerate much to capture that feeling of small-town folks who take themselves and their little village ultra-seriously.Councilman/Pharmacist: "Corky, our budget for the entire year is $50,000, and that includes swimming." Corky: "Well, I don't have any swimming in my show." I'm sorry, but if you can't understand why an exchange like that is funny, I can't help you.Grade: A+