Be My Guest

We finally got around to viewing "For Your Consideration," the latest film by Christopher Guest (above, as seen in the film). Once again, he's rounded up the usual suspects of his acting ensemble, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McKean, Parker Posey, etc., whom we've become familiar with from his other films, like "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show," and "A Mighty Wind."

While "FYC" isn't a side-splitting film (are any of his others, really?), it retains that naturalistic quality that comes out of improvisation. The basic premise is a send-up of Hollywood centered on the creation of a film called "Home for Purim," about a WWII-era Jewish family in the South who speak Yiddish-isms with southern accents and whose daughter returns for Purim dinner (a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar) with her lesbian lover. Most of "FYC" takes place behind the scenes, revealing the egos and insecurities of all involved, and Catherine O'Hara's "veteran actress" character becomes obsessed with winning an Oscar.

Guest plays the director, looking a bit like Albert Einstein. Ultimately, the film is renamed "Home for Thanksgiving" because the distributor, played by Ricky Gervais, thinks it's too Jewish for popular success.

It's not as tightly executed a film as "A Mighty Wind" or "Best in Show," but it's still characteristically "Guest," and we really enjoyed watching it.

Until next time...

Rick