Best In Show Review by Tim Wick
I've really gotten myself in the habit of avoiding reviews until after I've
seen the movie lately. I typically check to see how many stars each
reviewer gave the film and then go to see it anyway. For instance,
Entertainment Weekly dislikes just about everything. If I made my choice
based on the pretentious, metaphor laden diatribes written by their critics,
I would never go to the movies. They have obviously decided that it is
their job to be critics, not movie lovers. I gotta admit that they could
probably write circles around me and be far more entertaining at cocktail
parties, but I'm betting that I enjoy going to the movies more than they do.
Anyway, this whole tirade against the bane of the moviegoers existence is to
tell you that I was steadfastly avoiding reviews of Best in Show because I
really wanted to attend the film unbiased by other peoples opinions.
The issue here is that Best in Show is the newest offering from
Christopher Guest and company. You might remember Guest from This is
Spinal Tap, but his true moment of comic glory came when he co-wrote,
directed and starred in the hysterically funny Waiting for Guffman. That
film, which is exquisitely funny if you have ever been involved in community
theater, starred most of the same actors as Best in Show and was created
using a similar improvisational technique. Because of that, it is
impossible to watch Best in Show without comparing it to Guffman
(assuming you have seen it).
I knew that critics would be telling me this film was either better or worse
than Guffman and so I wanted to avoid hearing such things because I really
think that a film should be judged in individual merit rather than how it
compares to other ventures by the same creative team.
My point here is that I did not go in to the theatre with a preconceived
idea one way or the other.
That said, it is impossible to review this movie without comparing it to
Waiting for Guffman. I want to, but I can't. So those of you that don't
want to know if this movie was better or worse than Guffman should skip
the rest of the review. I liked the movie and you should go. There.
Now for the nitty gritty of this movie. It's about dogs. Actually, it's
about dog owners who show their dogs at a prestigious dog show in
Philadelphia. Of course, the personalities of the dogs are completely
overshadowed by the flamboyant, freaky and just plain weird behavior of
their owners. The cast is largely made up of Guffman alumni with Guest,
Eugene Levi, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey and Fred Willard all returning
as lead characters. They are joined by several other actors whom Guest has
worked with before, including Michael McKean who appeared with Guest in
This is Spinal Tap but is probably best remembered to all of us as Lenny
from Laverne & Shirley.
Guest is well versed with the mockumentary style of filmmaking and it lends
itself to the acting style. The actors are allowed to come up with the most
flamboyant characters they can imagine and then forced to play "yes and"
with each other (that was a theatre reference - the idea is you never negate
another actors choice, you only add to it). Of course, this allows for a
ton of hysterical interviews as the players keep trying to come up with a
even more bizarre personality trait for their fellow actors.
Catherine O'Hara steals the show playing Cookie Fleck, a slut (sorry, that's
what she it - I can't come up with a better word) turned Terrier breeder who
is now married to the nerdy Eugene Levy. Anyone who has seen Catherine
O'Hara would not be terribly surprised. Levy (who managed to turn American
Pie from being idiotic to merely tiresome) is Cookie's husband and his
facial expressions as they meet one of her old flames after another are
perfect. The two make a great combination as you are constantly wondering
what the one did to deserve the other.
I also have to give full points to Fred Willard and Jim Piddock who are the
"color commentary" for the dog show. Willard's Buck Laughlin clearly wanted
to be a sportscaster, which leads to some of the most inappropriate
comparisons you have ever heard. Piddok's dog expert Trevor Beckwith calmly
tries to deal with Laughlin's continuous idiocy though you can tell if the
competition went on for five minutes longer, a murder would have been
committed.
OK, so I have to say it. The film isn't quite as funny as Waiting for
Guffman and the reason is because the characters rarely interact. I wanted
to watch how Guest's Harlan Pepper (who was most likely a homophobe) would
interact with McKean's character (who's boyfriend wore the most impressive
outfits at the show). Where Guffman would put it's insane characters
together, Best in Show keeps them apart. They are still funny, but you
have to wonder how much funnier they would be if they spent a little time in
the same shots.
Best in Show may not surpass Waiting for Guffman, but it is still a
witty romp through the tough world of dog showing competitions and I think
you should go see it or I'll have to get....bad pun coming.....ruff!!!
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