When you go to see Best in Show (and you should definitely see it), make sure you pick a theatre that plays the movie LOUD. Why? Two reasons:
(1) expect the theatre to be packed with hysterically laughing people; (2) [not unrelated to the first] expect the theatre to be packed with hysterically laughing Christopher Guest fans who, at times, laugh louder than necessary in pre-approved appreciation of anything funny that Guest has to say.
Best in Show is an extremely funny film. Not as funny as This is Spinal Tap (what will ever be as funny as Spinal Tap?)--which was really an amalgamation of many brilliant comic minds, not just guest's--and significantly funnier than Waiting For Guffman, Guest's first solo effort.
What makes this film so amusing. Much of it is the utter banality of the topic. Dog shows. Yawn. It is Guest's incredible eye for the ironic (and pathetic) in Americana that can turn a dog show into a rip-roaring comedy. Best in Show may prove to be this season's sleeper once word gets out, but until that point, unfortunately very few non-Guest-fans will find the gumption to sit through two hours of dog preening and prancing. Think of it as Hollywood's best kept secret of the year.
This character piece is filled with over-the-top portrayals of the self-agrandized Dog Show Enthusiasts. While each role holds a unique background and socio-economic bent, they all share an absolute triviality of being. The cast could almost as easily been one schizophrenic person with ten different personalities as it was ten separate people. I would have liked to have seen broader scopes of the characters. Hats off to Fred Willard for his highly-colored commentary on the show. He was definitely the man who "made" this film, ignorant and witty, every word that came out of his mouth was a gem.
Watching the film will definitely have you rolling in the aisles, but there is something blatantly missing from this cleverly crafted comedy. There are no stakes. There is no reason to care about any of the characters (or their dogs). No one has any better reason for wanting to win the dog show than simply wanting to win the dog show. Personally, after watching an entire dog show film (with every minute enjoyable, mind you), I want to care who wins in the end. But instead I felt nothing. It made no difference to me who won or lost and the pay off in the end did nothing to build it up.
Christopher Guest brings his unique brand of lunacy to the screen with another mockumentary in the tradition of WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. This one BEST IN ...More at Family Video
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.