Waiting for Guffman

Plot synopsis:
In the fictional small town of Blaine, Missouri, a handful of utterly delusional residents prepare to put on a community theater production led by eccentric director Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest). The show, a musical chronicling the town's history titled Red, White and Blaine, is to be performed as part of the town's 150th-anniversary celebration.
Cast in the leads are Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), a pair of married travel agents who are also regular amateur performers; Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), a perky Dairy Queen employee; Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette), a "long time Blaineian" and retired taxidermist who is Red, White and Blaine's narrator; Johnny Savage (Matt Keeslar), a handsome and oblivious mechanic, who Corky goes out of his way to get into the play; and Dr. Alan Pearl (Eugene Levy), a tragically square dentist determined to discover his inner entertainer. High school teacher Lloyd Miller (Bob Balaban) is the show's increasingly frustrated musical director.
Corky has used connections from his "Off-Off-Off-Off-Broadway" past to invite Mort Guffman, a Broadway producer, to critique Red, White and Blaine. Corky leads the cast to believe that a positive review from Guffman could mean their show might go all the way to Broadway.
The program itself is designed to musically retell the history of Blaine, whose founding father was a buffoon incapable of distinguishing the geography of middle Missouri from the Pacific coastline. We also learn why the town obtusely refers to itself as "the stool capital of the United States." The music is a series of poorly performed songs such as "Nothing Ever Happens on Mars" a reference to the town's supposed visit by a UFO, and "Stool Boom". (The DVD contains "This Bulging River" and "Nothing Ever Happens in Blaine", which were edited from the cinema release.)
Central to the film are Corky's stereotypically gay mannerisms. He supposedly has a wife called Bonnie, whom no one in Blaine has ever met or seen. He uses her to explain his habit of shopping for women's clothing and shoes.
When Johnny is forced by his suspicious father (Brian Doyle Murray) to quit the show, Corky takes over his roles, which were clearly intended for a young, masculine actor, playing a lusty young frontiersman, a heartbroken soldier, and a little boy wearing a beanie and shorts. Corky never sheds his dainty demeanor, bowl haircut, lisp, or earring in spite of his historical roles, and his face is pasted with an overkill of stage rouge and eyeliner.
Corky is also faced with creating his magic on a shoestring budget, at one point quitting the show after storming out of a meeting with the City Council, which turns down his request for $100,000 to finance the production. But the distraught cast and persuasive city fathers convince Corky to return. At the show's performance, Guffman's seat is seen to be empty, much to the dismay of the cast. Corky reassures them that Broadway producers always arrive a bit late for the show, and sure enough a man (Paul Benedict) soon takes Guffman's reserved seat. The show is well received by the audience, whereupon Corky invites the assumed Guffman backstage to talk to the actors.
The man is actually Roy Loomis, who has come to Blaine to witness the birth of his niece's baby, but he does enjoy the show. Corky then reads a telegram stating that Guffman's plane was grounded by snowstorms in New York City, meaning that, like the "Godot" being spoofed, the real Guffman himself is destined never to arrive.
An epilogue shows the fates of the cast: Libby Mae has returned to Dairy Queen. Alan and the Albertsons have pursued their dreams of being entertainers, Ron and Sheila traveling to Los Angeles, California to work as extras, and Alan now performing for elderly Jews in Miami, Florida retirement communities. Corky has returned to New York City, where he has opened a Hollywood-themed novelty shop, which includes such items as Brat Pack bobblehead dolls, My Dinner with Andre action figures, and The Remains of the Day lunch boxes.

Tags: psychedelic, humor, satire, entertaining

Review:
I spent the weekend catching up on my Christopher Guest films, and watched `A Mighty Wind' then `Best in Show' and saved Guffman for last.
Civic pride and the desire to perform bring an eclectic group of people together in the mock documentary, or `mockumentary,' `Waiting for Guffman,' directed by Christopher Guest.
As he did with his more recent outing, `Best In Show,' Guest uses his satirical format to tell the story of the good people of Blaine, Mo., who are planning a celebration to commemorate the sesquicentennial of their fair town, the highlight of which will be a play depicting the history of Blaine.
And, as David Byrne did with `True Stories,' they play up the humor of every day life in a small town without ever making fun or maligning it in any way; there are no `cheap shots' employed just for the sake of a laugh.
Among those involved in bringing this piece of Americana to life are Fred Willard as Ron Albertson, and Catherine O'Hara as his wife, Sheila, who together run a local travel agency, but are entertainers at heart and jump at the chance to perform in St. Clair's musical; Parker Posey as Libby Mae Brown, who hopes to leave her job at the Dairy Queen behind when the show moves to Broadway; Eugene Levy as Dr. Allan Pearl, a dentist with a latent desire to perform who finally gets his chance with St. Clair; and Matt Keeslar as Johnny Savage, the mechanic who never realized where he real talents lay until St. Clair came along, and winds up on the stage, much to the chagrin of his dubious father, Red, played by Brian Doyle-Murray.
The performances by one and all are first rate, and it gives that necessary sense of realism to the film that really makes it work; these are not actors you're watching, but real people in a very real town.
Alfred Hitchcock may be the Master of Suspense, but with `Waiting for Guffman,' Christopher Guest proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is the Master of the `Mockumentary.'  He has an eye for detail and an innate sense of what makes people tick, and he fills his film with all the nuance and quirks of life that can be found every day in any small town or metropolis across the country.
We should thank our lucky stars for Christopher Guest, a consistently surprising filmmaker (he directed "Best in Show" and wrote "This is Spinal Tap") who makes 'mockumentaries' that play like actual documentaries.
"Waiting for Guffman" follows Corky St. Clair (Guest), a flamboyant stage director who gathers a group of 'eclectic' locals (a cross-eyed dentist; a husband-and-wife travel agent team; a Dairy Queen employee) for a production about the sleepy town in which they live (its claim to fame being home of the footstool).
For instance, in Ron & Sheila's audition with their treatment of "Midnight At The Oasis", it took me about 10 viewings til I noticed that Sheila is mouthing the words to Ron because of his problems remembering his lines.I really don't know where to begin listing my favorite things about this movie - Ron's "medical reason" for his sole trip outside of Blaine, Dr. Pearl's Carson impressions, Sheila's "less-is-more" acting approach, Corky's tantrums ("I hate you, and I hate your ass face!"), Libba Mae's description of her job at Dairy Queen, councilman Steve Stark admiration for Corky ("GOD, I wish I was in the show"), there is not a wasted moment in this film.
Like "Spinal Tap", this film mercilessly spoofs the "artistic" pretentions of Corky and his cast, but the audience ends up feeling genuine affection for the characters, the provincial backwater of Blaine, and even Corky's awful show with laughable music and acting.
Not only is this a funny movie, it shows the genius of Mr. Guest at his best.Corky St. Clair, the director from the New York stage seems completely out of place in Blaine, Mo. He is too witty for that small little town, where he is clearly adored, not only by the local thespians, but by the whole municipal council.
There is the history part, or how Blaine came to be, and the other notorious incident of the flying saucer that came into town and took several of the citizens for a tour of the space craft and we are being told about it by the people that experienced that adventure.Christopher Guest makes a wonderful Corky St. Clair.
I think it would be easy to dismiss the talent that went into this film, because it looks so effortless on screen, but you would have to be a wonderful actor to make material this subtle and dead pan work as well as it does here."Guffman" is better than any of the follow up films Christopher Guest and his recurrent ensemble have made since because it doesn't stretch itself too thin.
The actors don't even have to exaggerate much to capture that feeling of small-town folks who take themselves and their little village ultra-seriously.Councilman/Pharmacist: "Corky, our budget for the entire year is $50,000, and that includes swimming." Corky: "Well, I don't have any swimming in my show." I'm sorry, but if you can't understand why an exchange like that is funny, I can't help you.Grade: A+.
This Christopher Guest film has the potential to be incredibly funny considering it's about a small midwestern town's historic festival drama production.
Guffman (to say more would give away the plot).About the only saving grace of this movie is the humourous tension between the high school music director, Lloyd Miller, a control-freak of short stature, and Corky, the closet-gay "drama queen."If you want to see a funny Christopher Guest film, rent Best in Show, or go see Might Wind.
The entire movie is infused with a benign joy and heartfelt warmth that is irresistible.As others have said, the highlight of the movie is a scene that can only be seen in the DVD extras  Libby Mae Brown's audition monologue  an incredibly well written and executed performance that reveals more about her character and Posie's talent than many award winning turns.As ever, the musical numbers by 'Taps' Guest, McKean and Shearer are brilliant  catchy and witty and performed just on the right side of endearing amateurishness.An excellent movie, that compensates for the lack of laugh-out-loud moments with well crafted, beautifully realized characters, and inspired songs..
Waiting for Guffman is set during Blaine's sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary), and is the story of St. Clair conceiving, casting, producing and finally co-starring in a play that tells the story of Blaine.This is mockumentary (which means it's presented as if it were a documentary, but it's really just a satire of one) co-written, co-scored and directed by Guest, in the vein of his later work (the most recent as of this writing), A Mighty Wind (2003).
The result is a comedy that rests on a foundation that you find small-town folk backwards and funny in their own right, and the movie comes down like a house of cards if you don't buy into this premise.
Also be sure to check out all of Christopher Guest's mockumentary films like, "Best in Show", "A Mighty Wind", and "This is Spinal Tap", they all hit close to home with what they are mocking and do it in the funniest way possible..
Director Christopher Guest assembled a group of talented actors and assigned to each of them a small-town character.
The majority of the dialog is unscripted, and the show the "actors" are called on to do is horrendously bad, but laughs flow from the sincerity of the characters and their (very unearned) high opinion of their talent and their show.Full of gentle digs at small-town life and amateur theater, Waiting for Guffman is not your typical comedy, but it is very funny and well worth your time -- as long as you don't expect it to be something it's not.Oh, and as noted elsewhere in these user comments, don't miss the closing credits.
Like some of the most brilliant comedies of recent years such as Clerks Waiting for Guffman reminds us of the true meaning of the term "sidesplitting." And, unlike in many of the movies on my "funniest films" list, there's nothing bizarre or twisted about this humor.
In the hands of writer and director Christopher Guest it is a strange comedy with very traces of originality, after all he goes back to the recurring documentary style filmmaking with all the main characters getting interviewed, and the whole thing takes too long to become a enjoyable film.
In the case of "Waiting for Guffman" the comedy took too long to be funny and the interviews once the greatest thing created by Guest in "This is Spinal Tap" was boring and unfunny.
Luckily these people are to be taken as good-hearted comic anomalies -  you like them AND you laugh at them (i.e. Parker Posey's grammatically-challenged Dairy Queen employee), which lets you off the hook a little.This is a very funny film.
Utilizing the comic talents of Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara to name just a few, the film perfectly satirizes small-town "talent" and is also just plain hilarious.
This movie is not for all tastes...It is a mock-documentary style which annoyed some of my friends (but I still let them be my friends...kidding) and there is little action or big special effects...there is A UFO and a musical number for those who demand such things...but better yet...sit back, relax and enjoying meeting the characters as that is what this film is all about..
Mockumentary about a small town acting troupe putting on a musical production does benefit from some great players (particularly Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, and the effortlessly funny Catherine O'Hara).
Waiting for Guffman wasn't the first Christopher Guest/Eugene Levy collaboration (as writers I mean, it's a Guest movie all the way) I had seen, but I think I probably would've reacted to it as I did after having seen it after Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
It's like Guest and his always inspired troupe were with a full burst of energy with their characters, even if they're all in a movie that's a little too short (it says 84 minutes but it feels even brisker if that's possible) and provides some characters who are funny all the time (like Guest's flamboyantly flamboyant Corky or Levy's nerdy and ostensibly Jewish Allan Pearl or Fred Willard as Rob Albertson), and some who are funny only in spurts like Catherine O'Hara or Bob Balaban.
Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara and Parker Posey shine.Superb movie..
I can only guess at this; I've been involved with community theatre in the past (and I grew up in a small town, no less), and the entire time I watched this movie I found myself saying, "I KNOW these people - I've acted with them!"The entire cast is brilliant - it's apparent from their performances that they're no strangers to the eccentric extroverts who are drawn to community theatre, as they portray them flawlessly.
The idea of doing a documentary about a small town auditioning and performing in their own play is a pretty good one.The principle problem is Christopher Guest as Corky.
The only thing is that Guest never goes the extra step to make these characters anything more than hysterical and it's there for the taking."Guffman" centers around a fictional Missouri town called Blaine in which a local theater director Corky St. Clair (Guest) has agreed to create and direct a show about the history of the town for its 150th anniversary celebration.
Anyway, I was not bored by this movie, for the most part.Christopher Guest is a really good director except that he gets these two boring actors, Eugene Levy and that chick who plays his wife- and they just go on and on and on.
The acting and improvised script are absolutely superb, but it's the Intelligence of this work that impresses the most, it's very rare in modern comedies to have the subtlety and lightness of touch that is evident here.Far Better, in my humble opinion, than "Spinal Tap", "Best in Show"( though both are great) and the slightly disappointing "Mighty Like the Wind".Corky Sinclair is definitely the best character created by the prodigiously talented Christopher Guest.Maybe one day some bright spark will give the DVD a worldwide release!.
Still,it feels like this movie practically made the improvised(and not improvised)sense of taking the viewer through supposedly unforced and natural parody seem natural,effortless and brilliant.The small,central(?) Missouri town of Blaine is(As of 1995-96) turning 150 years old,and for something special to commemorate the sesquicentennial of Founder's Day,one-time Broadway actor and choreographer Corky St.Clair(Guest,relishing this chance to shed his more bankable notice from such films as "Spinal" and "Princess Bride")decides to seize this opportunity and put on a big-scale,Broadway quality musical celebrating the town's quaint yet odd history.
After sitting through an audition casting call that can be politely described as "Unique"(examples: a caped stunt player and a man who fires ping pong balls and catches them,both by mouth),he is able to make his cast:Dr.Allan Pearl(Eugene Levy,who is a joy to watch in almost everything he does) a shy,modestly talented but game dentist with vision problems;Ron and Sheila Albertson(Fred Willard--who would belong in a HAll of FAme of comedic character actors--and CAtherine O"HAra,who along with Levy,is a Ace SCTV alum who NEEDS more projects like this),local travel agents,also semi-talented and both quite delusional; Libby MAe Brown(Parker Posey,somewhat out-of-the-norm for her here,IF there's a norm for her types of roles),a basically unspoiled Dairy Queen employee,also with limited stage talent but game for the challenge;Johnny SAvage(MAtt Keeslar),a handsome but perceivably dense auto mechanic who goes along for the show,regardless of how much he may really fit in;and local storyteller Clifford Wooley(Lewis Arquette,more famous for being a member of the acting family),who serves as the narrator for their production.
The few laughs, actually I can only think of a couple, were not worth an entire movie of mediocre characters trying to put on a 150 year anniversary show about the history of a little town called Blaine, Missouri.
A funny thing happens near the middle of "Waiting For Guffman:" We in the audience start to care about the characters around the same time the film stops doing the same.Blaine, Missouri is celebrating its 150th anniversary with an all-out show featuring the talents of travel agents Ron and Sheila Albertson, Dairy Queen ingenue Libby Mae Brown, and dentist/funnyman Allan Pearl.
An aspiring director (Christopher Guest) and the marginally talented amateur cast of a hokey small-town Missouri musical production go overboard when they learn that someone from Broadway will be in attendance.Despite the incredibly cast (especially Parker Posey), this is not a film people usually talk about.
Not quite as wacky as "Airplane" or "This is Spinal Tap" (which was made by the same people minus Rob Reiner), but "Guffman" has its moments.Briefly, the film is a "mockumentary" (a satirical comedy done in documentary form, like Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run") about the ridiculousness of small-town theater, and maybe the ridiculousness of small-town Midwest American culture.
The mayor and council members have hired a gay wanna-be Broadway actor/writer/director, Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest, who also directs the film), to write and oversee the musical.
I absolutely love Catherine O' Hara's and Fred Willard's marital relationship in this movie-"honest to god, she hasn't cried this much since our wedding day." Also, Eugene Levy is genius, but my favorite character would have to be Corky-"I just hate you and your ass face." Parker Posey's performance as a poorly educated small-town girl is priceless.
Waiting For Guffman is director/writer/actor Christopher Guest's very funny mockumentary about a pageant put on by small town Blaine, Missouri to celebrate its centennial.
Guest has directed and acted in other mockumentarys (Spinal Tap, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind) but Waiting for Guffman is one of the best..
Christopher Guest's "mock"umentary Waiting for Guffman is one of the funniest movies ever created.
The quiet, yet very funny effort from Best In Show and A Mighty Wind writer/director Christopher Guest and writer Eugene Levy details the triumphs and failures of small-town America putting on a play retracing the history of Blaine, Missouri, founded by a band of brothers trying to find California.
Guest, Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Larry Miller, and David Cross headline the comedy troupe that improvises their way through the auditions, rehearsals, and performance of the play "Red, White, and Blaine!" Each smalltime actor is motivated, not by wanting to capture the town's history in play form, but rather because Broadway talent scout Mort Guffman is supposed to attend the play, possibly giving each actor their big break.
The style and story that makes up the comedies from such interesting and entertaining films such as A Mighty Wind, Dog Show, and Waiting for Guffman are the brilliance of Guest and Levy.
If you like unique movies or have enjoyed other Christopher Guest films, watch this film...I feel it's the best of all his work, although, Spinal Tap is a classic!
This movie is a must-see for anyone who ever did theater in high school, or who is familiar with small-town Midwestern life.It made me laugh at how silly I really must have looked in all of those shows where we were sure we were destined for Broadway, and at the same time made me miss my theater friends very much.The fact that the film is part of Christopher Guest & Eugene Levy's trilogy of hysterical, improv-ed films makes it all the more impressive and worth watching over and over again..
Now some are not into the mockumentary films, especially the Christopher Guest written and directed ones, but I think they are hilarious for anyone who likes creative, smart, and funny character comedy.