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Laramie Movie Scope:
For Your Consideration

Another Christopher Guest bomb

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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March 10, 2007 -- Maybe I should watch the earlier Christopher Guest movies like “This is Spinal Tap” and “Waiting For Guffman.” The ones I've seen lately, “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “For Your Consideration” have gotten progressively worse with each new film. I think these movies are divisive. They are much loved by some, but I am not among that flock. I find these films ever more boring and less amusing as Guest matures as a filmmaker. “Best in Show” was funny mainly because of Fred Willard, who is a regular in this string of Guest movies. But even the manic Willard, who appears here as a kind of crazed entertainment show host with a kind of Mohawk hairdo, can't save this train wreck of a movie.

“For Your Consideration” is one of those tiresome movie-within-a-movie stories about the hype that surrounds a small independent film called “Home For Purim.” A rumor started on the Internet soon spreads through the entire entertainment industry. The rumor is that some of the actors in “Home For Purim” film give performances worthy of Oscar consideration. Soon the Oscar buzz starts to cause everyone involved with the movie to start behaving very strangely. The actors start getting even bigger egos, the producers want to change the film in order capitalize on the publicity and the writers resist any changes. The film pokes fun at the entire entertainment industry and illustrates everything that can go wrong with a small independent film. One of the stars of the film, Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara) becomes completely unhinged by the publicity and changes her appearance. She becomes a complete caricature of herself, looking more like a drag queen than a woman. She's actually kind of scary.

As the time approaches for the Oscar nominations to be announced, the actors become more and more agitated. The film is mildly amusing in spots. There are a few laughs, but not many. The film is actually kind of sad in places. The film “Home For Purim” is dreadfully bad, but the sad fact is, “For Your Consideration” is not much better. I like comedies. I think they are much more difficult to perfect than drama. I know some people think this movie is very funny, but it just ain't my cup of tea at all. I think this goes beyond the normal differences between people in what they think is funny. This movie just seems very flat and uninspired. It has more dead scenes than live scenes. Perhaps this is because it is difficult to satirize the movie industry using exaggeration because the entertainment industry is already exaggerated to the maximum extent possible. I would rather stay home and watch TV than walk across the street to watch this movie for free. It rates a D.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics, theater tickets and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2007 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)