A Mighty Wind (2003)
The Cast
Harry Shearer .... Mark Shubb
Michael McKean .... Jerry Palter
Christopher Guest .... Alan Barrows
Eugene Levy .... Mitch Cohen
Catherine O'Hara .... Mickey Crabbe
Bob Balaban .... Jonathan Steinbloom
Rachael Harris .... Steinbloom's Assistant
Jim Ortlieb .... David Kantor
Jane Lynch .... Laurie Bohner
John Michael Higgins .... Terry Bohner
Parker Posey .... Sissy Knox
Don Lake .... Elliott Steinbloom
Deborah Theaker .... Naomi Steinbloom
Fred Willard .... Mike LaFontaine
Ed Begley Jr. .... Lars Olfen
Michael Hitchcock .... Lawrence E. Turpin
Larry Miller .... Wally Fenton
Jennifer Coolidge .... Amber Cole
Darlene Kardon .... Shirley Steinbloom
Scott Williamson .... PBN TV Director
This is the third in Christopher Guest's current mockumentary trilogy, focussing on a folk music tribute concert to the late Irving Steinbloom, a concert promoter that was credited with the folk music boom in the 1960s. Completely fictional of course, because none of the actual heavyweights from that time period are in the movie, just to maintain the satiric feel of the picture.
If you've seen Guest's previous two efforts (1996's Waiting For Guffman and 2000's Best In Show) you pretty much know what you're in for. A cast of seemingly eccentric regular people and the world that they live in now. Guest brings back much of the cast of those previous movies, with only one remarkable new addition, that being Harry Shearer as one of The Folksmen, a folk trio that was quite influential back in the day.
The rest of the comedic ensemble create such drastically different characters from the first two movies that you'd be hard pressed to believe they were the same actors. For the most part the decisions they make with these mostly improvised characters are home runs, but there are a couple notable exceptions. For example, Ed Begley, Jr.'s Swedish / Jewish springs to mind as one that just doesn't seem to click. It's such an odd combination that it just doesn't work as satire unless you're actually part of that world and can say "I know that guy!" I'd almost lump Jane Lynch's former porn actress now folk singer and devoted wife character into that category too, but it's Jane Lynch, so fuck that noise.
Eugene Levy steals the show in a far more subdued way than Fred Willard's commentator in Show did (Willard is almost unfortunately over-the-top in this one). Levy's Mitch is an inexplicably shell-shocked former member of a folk duo with Catherine O'Hara's Mickey. Mitch reluctantly comes back for this tribute concert to be reunited with his former partner, finding that those old feelings are still there, which Levy captures fantastically in an excellent performance. I have to give props out to Michael Hitchcock's role as the theatre organizer, growing increasingly more exasperated with every stupid question of Bob Balaban's Jonathan Steinbloom.
The movie itself isn't anything revolutionary, just something familiar if you enjoyed the first two Guest mockumentaries. A cast of incredibly talented comedic actors and a relatively engaging storyline, though still hampered with the flaws inherent in the genre. Just a slight step back from the brilliance of Best In Show.
3.5 / 5