multiplex so-called comedy pretenders with their stock plots and predicatable
jokes. Instead make a beeline for Best in Show, the latest satire of
American culture by Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for
Guffman). Guest is the king of the Mockumentary. In Best of Show, he applies
his satire to the unlikely subject of dog shows. Guest's satire is pointed
and hilarious, but it is not mean-spirited. The film is a parody, but it
displays knowledge and understanding of the subject it is satirizing, and it
never takes cheap shots. All of the humor comes from slightly exaggerating
(and, in some case, not exaggerating at all) certain aspects of human (or dog)
behavior.
The story is simple; it centers around purebred dog owners feverishly
competing for their pets to be named Best in Show at the Mayflower Kennel Club
Dog Show. Guest spins a spoof on society surrounding the stage. The cast is
peopled with hilarious, frighteningly real characters played by Catherine
O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Michael McKean and cameos by
wonderful character actors like Ed Begley Jr. The characters they play are
zany, complex and in a span of merely 90 minutes, they become suprisingly real
to the audience. And, while there's not a lot of tension on who eventually
wins the "Best in Show" competition, there is an unexpected twist or two.
Go see Best in Show, you will not find a movie where the entire audience
laughs harder or louder this year. The humor is both in your face and
cunningly sly. Guest puts in wonderful touches that you might miss - like all
the row of clocks behind the bell desk at the Mayflower hotel, they all show
times for east coast cities (meaning they all show the same time). Okay, so I
knew to look for that before I went to the movie; so, now, you do too. I've
got my fingers crossed that, when this gets released on DVD, Guest includes
all the extra footage, especially the verbal banter between Mayflower Show
commentators Fred Willard and Jim Piddock.
Rating: 3 1/2 (out of 4) stars