Best in Show (film)

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 Directed by
 Produced by
 Written by
 Starring
* Christopher Guest
* John Michael Higgins
* Michael Hitchcock
* Eugene Levy
* Jane Lynch
* Michael McKean
* Catherine O'Hara
 Music by
 Cinematography
 Edited by
 Production
company
 Distributed by
 Release date
 Running time
 Country
 Language
 Budget

***Best in Show*** is a 2000 American mockumentary comedy film, a spoof on American dog shows, co-written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy and directed by Guest. The film follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show, and focuses on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers, as they travel to the show and then compete during the show. Much of the dialogue was improvised. Many of the comic actors were also involved in Guest's other films, including *Waiting for Guffman*, *A Mighty Wind*, *For Your Consideration*, and *Mascots*. The film's score was composed by C. J. Vanston.

## Contents

* 1Plot
* 2Cast
	+ 2.1Actors
	+ 2.2Dogs
* 3Production
* 4Reception
* 5Legacy
* 6See also
* 7References
* 8External links

## Plot[edit]

*Best in Show* is presented as a documentary of five dogs, their owners, their trainers and their handlers, who travel to compete in the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, held in the fictional Beyman Center in Philadelphia. Segments of the documentary continuously cycle among owners and handlers as each prepares to leave for the show, arrives at the hotel, prepares backstage, handles their dog's performance, and appears in a post-show follow-up. The owners and their dogs include:

* Gerry and Cookie Fleck (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara), with their Norwich Terrier, Winky: A middle-class couple from Florida, who, not having paid their credit-card bills, making their card unusable, and not having enough cash on them for a two-night stay at the posh fictional Taft Hotel, are forced to sleep in the hotel's storage room when they finally arrive. Throughout the film, they encounter Cookie’s former lovers, who kiss her passionately and try to seduce her, provoking Gerry’s jealousy.
* Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock), with their Weimaraner Beatrice: An upper-class, stereotypical yuppie couple from a fictional Chicago suburb known as Moordale, Illinois, they think they are taking great care of Beatrice (although really they are just confusing and upsetting her with their neurotic behavior), going as far as taking her to a psychotherapist after she sees Meg and Hamilton have kinky sex. At the show, the Swans fear that Beatrice will become unhinged without her favorite toy, the "Busy Bee", and frantically search for a replacement for it before the show.
* Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest) and his Bloodhound Hubert: The Southern owner of a fishing goods store and an aspiring ventriloquist, he is an affable man who prides himself on being able to name every type of nut. The Pepper family has raised a variety of hounds for generations, and Harlan continues the tradition by raising bloodhounds.
* Sherri Ann and Leslie Ward Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw) with their Standard Poodle Rhapsody in White (or Butch):A two-time past winner of the show, Sherri Ann is a plump, buxom, overly-made-up trophy wife to the elderly Leslie, her sugar daddy. They are assisted by trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch), an extremely competitive handler who makes sure the dog is truly ready for the show, while Sherri Ann fixates on giving Christy a makeover and Leslie remains utterly oblivious. Over the course of the film, Sherri Ann and Leslie's sham marriage and Sherri Ann and Christy's romantic involvement become apparent.
* Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof (John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean) and their Shih Tzu Miss Agnes: A campy gay couple, they take great pride in their dog, and are confident that she will win the competition. They share a love of old movies and enjoy making fun of Christy Cummings, but are friendly to the other competitors, especially the Flecks.

The owners and their dogs all arrive in time for the show, which is hosted by dog expert Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock), and oblivious "color" commentator Buck Laughlin (Fred Willard). During the first round, Beatrice is disqualified when Hamilton cannot control her, but the other four dogs advance to the final round. Just before the finals, Cookie dislocates her knee and insists that Gerry take over for her. Though the audience is initially awed by seeing Gerry's "two left feet" (the result of a birth defect), ultimately Winky takes Best in Show.

Afterwards, the film explores what each character is doing after the competition. Gerry and Cookie return home to Florida and are overcome with attention after the victory. They go on to record, in amusingly bad style, songs about terriers, but discover to Gerry's frustration that the recording engineer (Steven Porter) is yet another of Cookie's ex-boyfriends. Sherri Ann and Christy have entered into a partnership (whether Leslie has died or has been divorced from Sherri Ann is unknown) and publish a magazine for lesbian owners of purebred dogs, called *American Bitch*. Harlan fulfills his dreams and becomes a ventriloquist, entertaining sparse crowds with a honky tonk song and dance number. Stefan and Scott are in the process of designing a calendar featuring Shih Tzu dogs appearing in scenes, with appropriate costume, from famous classic films, such as *Gone with the Wind* and *Casablanca* (and *McMillan & Wife*, a television show included without explanation, though possibly because it starred Rock Hudson, a closeted homosexual.) Hamilton and Meg Swan no longer have Beatrice (they do not explain what became of her), allowing them to enjoy a calmer, more loving partnership, as well as a new dog (a pug) named Kipper, which they claim enjoys watching them make love.

## Cast[edit]

### Actors[edit]

* Eugene Levy as Gerry Fleck
* Catherine O'Hara as Cookie Fleck
* John Michael Higgins as Scott Donlan
* Michael McKean as Stefan Vanderhoof
* Michael Hitchcock as Hamilton Swan
* Parker Posey as Meg Swan
* Jennifer Coolidge as Sherri Ann Cabot
* Jane Lynch as Christy Cummings
* Christopher Guest as Harlan Pepper
* Larry Miller as Max Berman
* Jim Piddock as Trevor Beckwith
* Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin
* Ed Begley Jr. as Hotel Manager
* Lynda Boyd as Cabot Party Guest
* Teryl Rothery as Philly AM Host
* Patrick Cranshaw as Leslie Ward Cabot
* Will Sasso as Dale the Fishin' Hole Guy
* Bob Balaban as Theodore W. Millbank III
* Don Lake as Graham Chissolm
* Jay Brazeau as Chuck Nelken

### Dogs[edit]

The starring dogs listed are denoted by their registered names. All have earned the title *Ch.*, indicating they have qualified for a championship at conformation shows, with most qualifying for the Canadian Kennel Club Championship—hence the prefix *Can*. The *kennel prefix* of one or more breeders precedes each dog's registered name; e. g. in "Arokat Echobar Take Me Dancing", the first breeder is "Arokat" and the second is "Echobar" while the name is "Take Me Dancing". The registered name differs from the dog's *call name*, which is used to talk to the animal. For example, Arokat Echobar Take Me Dancing's call name is "Peach".[2]

* Can Ch. Arokat Echobar Take Me Dancing - Beatrice the Weimaraner
* Can Ch. Urchin's Bryllo - Winky the Norwich Terrier
* Ch. Quiet Creek's Stand By Me - Hubert the Bloodhound
* Can Ch. Rapture's Classic - Miss Agnes the Shih Tzu
* Can Ch. Symarun's Red Hot Kisses - Tyrone the Shih Tzu
* Can Ch. Exxel's Dezi Duz It With Pizaz - Rhapsody in White the Standard Poodle[3]

## Production[edit]

The greater part of the film was improvised by the actors, with little to no planning.[4]

## Reception[edit]

*Best in Show* received critical acclaim. The film has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 7.53/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A fine example of writer/director/star Christopher Guest's gift for improv comedy, *Best in Show* boasts an appealingly quirky premise and a brilliantly talented cast".[5] The film also has a score of 78 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6] It won American, British, and Canadian Comedy Awards. The film is number 38 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". In 2012 *Best in Show* won a spot on Yahoo's list of the "100 Funniest Movies to See Before You Die".

The film opened to a weekend gross of $413,436 to 13 theatres with an average of $31,802 per theater. After opening to a total of 497 theaters, the film ended its run with a domestic total of $18,715,392. The foreign gross of $2,074,164 brought its total gross revenue to $20,789,556.[1]

## Legacy[edit]

*Best in Show* was the inspiration for the National Dog Show which has aired each Thanksgiving on NBC since 2002.[7]

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* *Best in Show* at the TCM Movie Database
* *Best in Show* at AllMovie
* *Best in Show* on IMDb
* *Best in Show* at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

* *Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman* (1993)
* *Waiting for Guffman* (1996)
* *Almost Heroes* (1998)
* *Best in Show* (2000)
* *A Mighty Wind* (2003)
* *For Your Consideration* (2006)
 Television
* *The Wizard of Oz Focus Group* (2012 short)
* *Family Tree* (2013)

Categories:

* 2000 films
* English-language films
* 2000 comedy films
* 2000 LGBT-related films
* American films
* American LGBT-related films
* American mockumentary films
* Castle Rock Entertainment films
* Films about competitions
* Films about dogs
* Films directed by Christopher Guest
* Films set in Pennsylvania
* Films set in Philadelphia
* Films shot in Vancouver
* Films with screenplays by Christopher Guest
* Films with screenplays by Eugene Levy
* Gay-related films
* Improvised films
* LGBT-related comedy films
* Warner Bros. films