*** - After watching Christopher Guest’s previous three films, it got to a point in which his mockumentary style and almost identical formulas were starting to run out of steam. With this movie, his fourth overall, he drops the mockumentary shtick and while it is still firmly ensconced in the satire genre and uses the same stable of actors as the prior films, it feels fresher and may be his most enjoyable since “Waiting for Guffman”. The plot revolves around the Oscar buzz generated by a bunch of has-been and never-will-be actors on a film called “Home for Purim” (later renamed “Home for Thanksgiving” at the insistence of studio suits), and consists largely of a series of scenes that feature two or three actors having conversations with each other, sometimes humorous and sometimes not. While I was a little disappointed that the somewhat heavily advertised role for Ricky Gervais turned out to be all of about 3 minutes of screen time, he was certainly the highlight of the movie for me. Also, Fred Willard turned in another stellar performance as an obnoxious co-host of an “Entertainment tonight”-style show. Like all of Guest’s films it is a little hit-and-miss but probably worth seeing for Ricky’s performance if nothing else.
For Your Consideration
*** - After watching Christopher Guest’s previous three films, it got to a point in which his mockumentary style and almost identical formulas were starting to run out of steam. With this movie, his fourth overall, he drops the mockumentary shtick and while it is still firmly ensconced in the satire genre and uses the same stable of actors as the prior films, it feels fresher and may be his most enjoyable since “Waiting for Guffman”. The plot revolves around the Oscar buzz generated by a bunch of has-been and never-will-be actors on a film called “Home for Purim” (later renamed “Home for Thanksgiving” at the insistence of studio suits), and consists largely of a series of scenes that feature two or three actors having conversations with each other, sometimes humorous and sometimes not. While I was a little disappointed that the somewhat heavily advertised role for Ricky Gervais turned out to be all of about 3 minutes of screen time, he was certainly the highlight of the movie for me. Also, Fred Willard turned in another stellar performance as an obnoxious co-host of an “Entertainment tonight”-style show. Like all of Guest’s films it is a little hit-and-miss but probably worth seeing for Ricky’s performance if nothing else.
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