Along with State and Main, this latest mockumentary from the boys responsible for the cult of Spinal Tap gives some hope that the comedy genre may be salvaged from the "omigod, he just slept with a gibbon and then drank its piss!" approach to a more consistent, subtle style. That's not to say that the gross-out comedy can't be funny, it's just that this horse isn't so much dead as thoroughly mutilated.
'Best in Show' follows the ups and downs of several teams as they try to win the titular award in the annual Mayflower dog show. There's the requisite eclectic characters, all carefully crafted and fleshed in some very amusing dialogue, a large part of which is adlibbed. We have the stereotypical homosexual hairdressers, a buck-toothed Eugene Levy, a country hick and neurotic lawyers all competing fiercely and making fools of themselves in the process. All of the cast seem to have great fun in their roles and for the most part are successful, although Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as the city hotshots who think their dog has psychological problems rapidly dissolve into yelling at everyone which is quite annoying after a while.
The dogs don't do much except get fawned over by their owners, but some of the freakish breeds that show up are in themselves enough to get you laughing. The funniest moments come in the last part of the film with the arrival of Fred Willard as the show commentator, who is clearly more at home covering baseball than dog shows. His genuine but misguided questions to his expert co-commentator and wandering attention are hugely enjoyable.
At no point will Best in Show have you rolling in the aisles in hysterics, but it does have more than enough moments to keep a grin on your face for most of it's short running time. Considering this it's probably not going to cause much of a dent in the box office but a pleasantly chucklesome affair nonetheless. |
