Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Sean Lamberger Christopher Guest and company tackle the super-cheesy folk music scene of the '60s in their own unmistakable way. While its status among Guest's other pictures could be debated, I don't think there's any question it's his most complete effort. Tremendously funny at points, it also tells a straight, coherent story and ties in a stunning successful emotional hook. The laughs aren't quite as loud or as rapid-fire as they were in Spinal Tap; however, the tone also isn't nearly as flippant, which is a major reason why it's able to settle down and deliver something truly sweet at the climax. Of course, the original music is once again outstanding, with lyrics that are more subtly funny and not nearly as brazen, and is spectacularly performed by the cast of ad-lib legends. It's an ensemble piece in every definition of the word, with the mockumentary style of the first sixty minutes providing more than enough background to emotionally invest its audience for the grand finale in Town Hall. Effectively funny and heartwarming in even doses, A Mighty Wind is a great continuation of the troupe's legacy.

Baron Ronan Doyle Comedy in film is one thing which I tend to worry about more than many other factors. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I cannot precisely point out what I want from a comedy film that I feel uneasy watching them, afraid they will disappoint these hidden standards. With that in mind, and with an urge to laugh, I turned to the well trusted Christopher Guest.A musical mockumentary, A Mighty Wind covers the organisation of a tribute concert to recently deceased folk music magnate Irving Steinbloom, to be performed by three of the acts he helped launch in the course of his career: The New Main Street Singers; The Folksmen; Mitch & Mickey.Both A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, prior to my recent viewings thereof, lingered vaguely in the back of my mind from my first viewings several years ago. I can recall being, back then, thoroughly amused by the films but simultaneously gripped by a sense that so much was passing me by. It is only now that I realise quite how right I was, the layered approach to Guest's comedy ever more evident with the increased wisdom of years. Co-writing with Eugene Levy, and reputedly allowing for a great deal of improvisation, Guest creates a hybrid of comedic styles that keeps you laughing from start to stop. Perhaps it is in the nature of these humorous situations that the film finds its effect. There are no grand set pieces, no tigers in bathrooms. There are only people, behaving in an entirely human manner. Steinbloom's son, determined to give his father the perfect tribute, fusses over every detail of the concert, worrying that perhaps the chosen flowers may prove dangerous to exposed eyeballs. It is the realism of these characters, these situations, and these words that is so achingly funny. We all know people like this, people who would agree with the younger Steinbloom in his assessment of topiary hazards. Guest and co require no fantastical and otherworldly sequences of events to illicit our laughs; they need only reality and the true-to-life characteristics of the people around us. Real life is funnier than anything fantasy can dream up, and the mockumentary format makes A Mighty Wind feel as though this is reality at its most unadulterated. The laughs come fast, hard, and with an emphatic truth that makes them more amusing than just about anything else. This, I think, is the appeal of Guest's directorial work (or at least what I've seen of it), and it is what makes him one of the best comedic filmmakers today. Needless to say his regular cast works astoundingly well together, his reasons for re-using the same actors repeatedly easy to understand. What is truly exceptional about A Mighty Wind, ranking it above the frankly funnier Best in Show and more scathingly reflective For Your Consideration, is its humanity. I dare say nobody who watches this film will ever be able to forget the interminable sweetness of Mitch & Mickey, easily among the greatest screen couples of all time. An utterly compelling and at times quite saddening romantic subplot underscores the film with such a poetic drama that one cannot help but be moved as well as amused. And their song... Oh their song... Words cannot describe.With the wonderful humour of Guest's comedies, A Mighty Wind stands head and shoulders above almost all competition. Its humour lies in the reality of its situations, and the normality of its characters. Equipped with a disarmingly charming romance that will test the most hardened of hearts, it also boasts a fantastic soundtrack to compliment this fantastic comedy.

nathanschubach Another lovely romp for the "Christopher Guest players," this time each are in some form of a folk music act. Immediately you notice the singing and instrumentation that each of the actors bring with them, which is an added bonus for this cast. My favorite character was Fred Willard's insane manager-character, Mike LaFontaine, who was a failed-TV personality and remembers his past in a totally different way than what happened. Also to mention are Jane Lynch (Glee) and John Michael Higgins' characters of Laurie and Terry Bohner, respectively, whose insane back-stories involve abuse ("...but it was mostly musical in nature"), adult films, and a newfound occult religion based on the worshiping of color.Despite hilarious moments, the movie really goes up and down between drama and comedy too often, mostly looking at deep relationships between the members of each and their decisions. At times, it works, but mostly I found myself asking, "why do I care about these guys?," and end up just waiting for a new scene. Eugene Levy's back-story especially was funny at times and then just got sad and sappy. The songs got a little repetitive after awhile, too, but groups like "The Folksmen" were a nice treat with their insane stories of Spanish Wars woven into musical epics...all to be ushered offstage for the next group to go on.I think if this were done differently, maybe focus on only one or two of the groups, in the same way "This is Spinal Tap" was. It drags at times, but the full performance aspect of the movie brings points back to its overall score with me.

theowinthrop A MIGHTY WIND is not a simple sequel to the earlier comedy spoof THIS IS SPINAL TAP. There was nothing in that film that was really moving (the death of the drummers in the band became an occupational hazard after awhile). Instead, A MIGHTY WIND is a bittersweet film about the passing of a briefly appreciated musical trend, but more important the tragedy of two of that trends celebrities in the failure of their marriage. For the marriage of Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) becomes the centerpiece of our attention by the last third of the film.The up-beat small town Americana personified in the music of the three groups is not totally dead. One can hear people strumming 1960s kitch even today. But it was supposed to be a tonic to the rock and roll and protest songs of the 50s to the 70s. It just did not have the staying power of those songs. One of the ironies of the film is that Michael McKeon's group is spoofing "The Weavers", but that group (led by Pete Seeger) transcended this kind of music and ended up leading the vanguard of the anti-war protests of the 1960s. When McKeon is approached about a song concerning an incident in the Spanish Civil War that his two partners are not afraid to sing he looks rather put out - he just doesn't think it's their type of music.The key to this film's difference from SPINAL TAP is that the numbers are actually just this side of good. One can hear all of them without being turned off by them seeming so naive. This is particularly true of Mitch and Mickey's number regarding the kiss at the end of the rainbow. It actually is moving as sung by them, and (in it's first performance) they did a kiss. It becomes their signature song. But the love that led to their marriage (a love on Levy's part that got him badly beaten defending O'Hara when she was insulted) does not last. Levy's Mitch has a mental problem, and the two divorced. But O'Hara's Mickey always was concerned about him - even after she had a successful second marriage. When he briefly vanishes just before they go on (he went out for some air and to get her a flower) she becomes hysterical thinking he may have gotten hurt. They do the kiss again for the live audience, but it is obvious that they really wanted to. But once they do they revert because they don't want to give each other the wrong signal.That business gives a heart to the film totally missing from SPINAL TAP. This does not mean the comedy is not funny - it is on target. The interviews that reveal too much about the people being interviewed. The behavior of the dead impresario's older son who is concerned about whether flower arrangements at Town Hall may lead people to fatally injure themselves tripping over the dangling flowers, or that they will be confused by stage decorations mingling painted banjos that look like they are three dimensional next to real street lamps. The head of Town Hall showing the acoustics by singing "Ave Maria" badly. The belief of two of the singers in some reality involving color and levels of sound. The television network honcho (Ed Begley Jr.) who is Swedish, boasts of some obscure song he wrote that was big on Stockholm song charts years ago, and uses Yiddish words as a kind of proof of his being a producer. It is a wonderful movie, and superior (I feel) for that degree of sadness it reveal in the lives of two star-crossed lovers.