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Waiting for Guffman-1996

Director Christopher Guest

Starring Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara

Scott’s Review #1,145

Reviewed May 24, 2021

Grade: B+

Somehow mocking local community theater troupes with questionable talent couldn’t be funnier with the right premise and an outstanding cast.

The added fun of midwestern traditions like barbeques good manners and spot-on imitations put on display for humor works well.

They should be celebrated and appreciated in Waiting for Guffman (1996).

The hysterical Best in Show (2000) is probably my favorite Christopher Guest film but Waiting for Guffman is a hoot and hollering good time.

The ‘B+’ rating comes largely because Guffman is an opening act to the fab Best in Show. They can easily be watched back to back and perhaps should for further cherishing.

When the town of Blaine, Missouri approaches its sesquicentennial, the residents decide to celebrate by performing a musical revue called “Red, White, and Blaine.”

Flamboyant director Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest) is determined to return to Broadway success by casting untalented but passionate individuals to perform.

Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, and Catherine O’Hara play the main cast members.

When Corky reveals that influential theater agent Mort Guffman will attend the opening, the cast is convinced that they will be rewarded with accolades and appearances on the Broadway stage if they perform successfully.

They become titillated, flustered, and manic as the pressure of opening night approaches.

I daresay, some folks from the midwest United States or those faithful to the local theater may not enjoy Wating for Guffman but I sure did. Most of the characters are written as buffoons and lacking any talent.

The hysterics come because they think that they possess what they lack.

The aforementioned Guest, Levy, Willard, and O’Hara work so well together they are the reason Waiting for Guffman is so damned funny! The comic timing between the actors is flawless and timed perfectly.

Levy and O’Hara appeared together in the Canadian television sketch comedy series SCTV in the 1970s and 1980s before hitting the jackpot with the television series Schitt’s Creek in later years so a fun thing to do is watch them in whatever they appear in together.

They are that good!

There abound many stereotypes in Waiting for Guffman since Corky is written as a walking gay stereotype with mascara and flamboyancy. The irony is that he reportedly has a wife who is never seen so the audience can draw their conclusions.

Given the casting and the director, Christopher Guest takes on acting and directing duties, the experience is largely improvisational and witty result.

Guest treats his actors, and himself, to famous Director Robert Altman’s mantra of letting his actors release and act on their terms, presumably knowing the characters better than anyone else.

The tactic works. Too often comedies are stagey and situations forced in an attempt to make the viewer laugh because he or she thinks they are supposed to laugh.

My favorite characters unsurprisingly are Ron and Sheila Albertson (Willard and O’Hara) as travel agents/amateur performers. They are zany and unpredictable and their antics cannot be superseded by anyone else.

Recommended mostly for the artistic and the improv comedy crowd. The spoofs are all over the place and fans of documentaries and talent shows can appreciate the gags.

Waiting for Guffman (1996) targets an intelligent audience craving fresh and original comedy. Being a cinema fan largely immersed in drama and horror, I was won over nonetheless.

The only drawback is the film pales in comparison to the brilliant Best in Show (2000) with largely the same cast and tone, but still should be watched.

Café Society-2016

Director Woody Allen

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Steve Carell

Scott’s Review #462

Reviewed August 11, 2016

Grade: B+

Having received sub-par reviews but wanting to see this film for myself, as it is a Woody Allen film, and I have yet to see an Allen film I did not like, I traversed to my local theater to see this flick.

I was not disappointed, though others did not share my opinion.

To love Woody Allen films is to love quirky characters who are either neurotic, damaged, or, more often than not, both.

Also notable to Café Society (2016) is the stellar cast of who’s who, many in minor cameo roles, another trademark of Woody Allen films.

Marisa Tomei, Daniel Radcliffe, and television stars Anna Camp (True Blood) have tiny roles, as do stars such as Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks) and Tony Sirico (The Sopranos).

Additionally, Woody Allen himself narrates the film- a highlight.

The main stars of Café Society are Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, both ideally cast.

The setting (which I adored) is 1930s Hollywood, and the action traverses between California and New York City, another common bond in Allen’s films.

Eisenberg plays Bobby Dorfman, a Jewish son of a working-class jeweler who has many siblings. Tired of New York, he flies to Los Angeles to obtain work with his hotshot Uncle Phil, played by Steve Carrell, who knows every celebrity.

There, he meets Vonnie (Stewart), and they fall in love, Bobby unaware of her on-and-off love affair with Phil.

The set and costume designs are to die for, and as a fan of this glamorous period in history, I find it an extraordinary visual treat.

Café Society is a prime example of a film that feels authentic to its time rather than appearing staged with actors merely dressed up in appropriate attire. This is tougher to achieve than one might imagine.

Despite contrary opinions, I enjoyed how most characters were wishy-washy and unsure of their motivations or feelings toward others.

Vonnie loves Phil, and then she warms to Bobby, who has been in love with her since their first meeting. She innocently shows him around Hollywood’s palatial mansions.

She is honest with Bobby but then makes a decision and becomes everything she once despised about Hollywood: a shallow, trophy wife.

Ironically, Bobby becomes involved with a stunning new woman named the same as his ex back in New York. This coincidence is crucial to the film’s point. He transfers his feelings to another woman, but is he pleased?

It did not bother me, though perhaps it should have, that several characters were introduced for a scene or two and then mysteriously dropped.

For instance, the novice hooker, Candy, having tried to make it as an actress and failed, has a heart of gold. However, after her awkward attempt at a tryst with Bobby, the character is never seen again.

Another characteristic of the film that I enjoyed is the natural, overlapping dialogue between the characters. It makes them more genuine and evokes my fondness for Robert Altman films, which used a similar technique with their actors.

The point of Café Society is that nobody ever gets what they want, and the film makes a point that nobody knows what they want.

Containing elements common to other Woody Allen films, Café Society (2016) is intended for fans of his lengthy work.