A Mighty Wind (2003)

Starring Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, and the Best in Show players.
Directed by Christopher Guest.
Written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy.
Produced by Karen Murphy.
Distributed by Warner Bros.
87 minutes.

LVJeff's Rating: 8/10

Showin' in the Wind

A Mighty Wind is officially the third of writer/director Christopher Guest's "mockumentaries." I haven't seen his first one, Waiting for Guffman, but I did see Best in Show, which had a warm, intimate style and take-your-time pacing. I'm guessing Guest, who also starred in what is likely considered the most successful of all mockumentaries, This is Spinal Tap, has now gotten very good at putting one of these pictures together, because A Mighty Wind feels almost exactly like Best in Show.

This is a good thing -- Best in Show was quite well-received, and rightly so. That movie poked fun at the dog show world, following several eccentric dog owners as they made their way to the big national contest. At first, one might expect a merciless skewering of the people who actually take this kind of thing seriously, but the movie actually got most of its mileage just by endearingly portraying the dog owners. Because the movie wasn't even close to being as mean-spirited as This is Spinal Tap (which itself isn't that mean-spirited), Best in Show allowed us to laugh at the people we were watching in a good-natured sort of way. It was less derision and more a celebration of the wide range of quirks we share as people.

A Mighty Wind utilizes the same basic plot structure as Best in Show. This time, we follow several groups of folk singers as they make their way to a big event -- a benefit concert for a recently deceased beloved folk music promoter. Once again, we get to know them and see how quirky they are, and that becomes the film's draw. It does take its jabs at folk music, mostly in the shots of silly-looking album covers and in the songs sung (most of them were written for the movie), but it mostly delivers its kicks by letting us spend some time with these really goofy characters.

Guest has found success with these films, but to just call them "Guest movies" would be unfair. For one thing, all of his mockumentaries have so far been co-written by Eugene Levy. Both of them also reliably appear in the movies -- and Levy is always a highlight, here playing a really wigged-out ex-folk-singer who does this thing with his eyes that just kept cracking me up. They have a regular comedy troupe who can now be depended upon for crack ensemble work, including Bob Balaban, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Hitchcock, and Larry Miller, who have all been there since Waiting for Guffman. Also coming back from Best in Show are Michael McKean, Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., and more. The presence of such a cast practically guarantees a good time.

A Mighty Wind shows a bit of weakness as it handles the sub-plot of the folk-singing duo Mitch and Mickey (Levy and O'Hara). Their tale has a depth to it that slightly wrecks the light comedic mood, especially during the movie's climax. What happens to them could almost be considered touching. This could enhance the story but it ultimately hurts the comedy, and perhaps it indicates that Guest and Levy, in danger of getting soft, ought to try shaking things up a little more the next time around. They should stay alert -- after all, there can be too much of a good thing.

©Jeffrey Chen, Apr. 16, 2003

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