A Prairie Home Companion – Most Saturday evenings from 6 to 8, my wife and I listen to A Prairie Home Companion on Wyoming Public Radio; listening to the two-hour program of music, humorous sketches, and Garrison Keillor’s monologue has been a tradition for us for over twenty years. On May 26, 2001, when Garrison Keillor and his cast and crew came to Laramie for the second time, we attended a live show. Thus, “trying to find the answers to life’s persistent questions,” we were looking forward to the recent release of this DVD.

The Robert Altman movie is a fictional behind-the-scenes view of the final A Prairie Home Companion radio show, featuring Garrison Keillor and most of his cast (though Sue Scott and Tim Russell serve in different roles from their usual spots in the acting troupe). Additionally Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play the parts of folk singers Yolanda and Rhonda, the Johnson Girls; and Meryl Streep really can sing. John C. Reilly and Woody Harrelson portray Lefty and Dusty, a pair of singing cowboys who spice up their tunes with crude humor. Kevin Kline is Guy Noir, the show’s bumbling security man. Tommy Lee Jones represents the corporate interest responsible for purchasing the Fitzgerald Theater, which will be torn down and made into a parking lot. (Why not include Joni Mitchell’s song during the show?) Virginia Madsen is the beautiful angel of death.

The movie is about a quarter of an hour shorter than the actual radio show, and no monologue or mention is made of Lake Wobegon. Nevertheless, like all the children of that fictional Minnesota town, this movie is above average. (Now we know for whom the beautiful angel of death came to escort away at the end of director Robert Altman’s last finished film. To this creative curmudgeon, a long good-bye).

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 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.

Copyright © 2006 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Patrick Ivers can be reached via e-mail at .