Okay, this non-humor piece thing is getting out of hand...

Went to see "A Mighty Wind" last night with my wife, and thought I'd pass along some thoughts for any of you so inclined. First, if you're a fan of "Guffman" and "Best in Show," certainly do go. It's not as laugh-out-loud funny as those two, and nowhere near the revelatory "Spinal Tap," but certainly worth seeing. And of course we want them to make the next one, right? Perhaps Kate's time at Second City has trained me, in best Pavlovian tradition, to stare at anything improvisatory with rapt amazement; whatever the reason I find this new style of comedy that Guest and co. are forging truly fascinating. So place what I'm about to say in that context, if you can; this sort of improvised-ensemble stuff could finally provide a commercial alternative to the endless high school/college comedies that Hollywood extrudes. That chance alone should be worth nine bucks, right?



Part of what makes A Mighty Wind so fun to watch is the relentless lack of glamor in its characters--and I don't mean typical Hollywood "he's an anti-hero, you can tell by his non-dimpled chin." These people are all old and wrinkly and strange-looking, just like normal people. And so from the outset, I'm much more invested in what happens to them. A Mighty Wind--you can read the story/synopsis elsewhere--was ultimately unsatisfying for that reason--the best of reasons? The natural arc of the main story, a love affair between Mitch and Mickey, seems truncated on purpose, or out of some sourness on the part of the filmmakers. Expanding on this theme, Kate wondered when Christopher Guest would stop "ritually humiliating his characters," that is, building up audience affection for them, then tacking absurd fates for them at the end. It's one thing to make the philsophical point that "in real life, most people don't change, and at the end of a larger pattern they are often just as deluded as when they began," but sometimes they DO change. And that's why we want to watch stories about them. So what's my take on "A Mighty Wind"? The same cold-bloodness that allows for such precise observation also makes the movie less satisfying than it ought to be, certainly less so than the first 3/4ths suggested. The focus on dogs--in all their sloppy untenable loveableness--in "Best in Show" warmed it up a few precious degrees. This movie is closer to "Guffman"--also a bit more clinical than it should've been--and while funny, ultimately less fun.