Waiting for Guffman comes from the genius mind
of Christopher Guest. Also in "This is Spinal Tap",
he seems to have made a brilliant career out of playing hopelessly
naive showbiz misfits who take themselves too seriously. I say,
the more power to him. This was a great, great film.
Mr. Guest stars as Corky, the campy off (off-off-off-off) Broadway veteran who is now plying his trade in the little hamlet of Blaine, Missouri. The city of Blaine was founded by a group of pioneers who thought they had reached California, and 150 years later, their descendants are not much brighter.
The cast is bolstered with SCTV alumni Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy, who are both COMPLETELY dead on target. All the characters are overplayed JUST enough to stand out and be noticed, without blowing it and losing credibility.
The result is amazing. I can't recall seeing a film be so wicked and sharp, and yet so gentle and affectionate at the same time. I was laughing my ass off at the characters, and yet I also got to see a bit of the world through their eyes. What more can you ask for in a movie?
This film is miles above any of the Saturday Night Live spinoff flicks. There's not so much as a hint of mediocrity, which is ironic because mediocrity is what the film is all about. There is also some irony in a multi-million dollar major motion picture made about a cheap little show staged in a high school gym.
Whatever... Waiting For Guffman was wonderful. See it. Jeff has spoken.