A MIGHTY WIND
Directed by Christopher Guest
Starring Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catharine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Bob Ballaban, Ed Begley Jr., Michael Hitchcock, Larry Miller, and Jennifer Coolidge.
This hilarious film is the third “mockumentary” directed by Christopher Guest. It follows in the grand tradition of “Waiting for Guffman” and “Best in Show”. In each of these films Guest utilizes his company of actors to create loving, yet scathing send-ups of people who take themselves way too seriously. In this case, the world of folk music is the target.
Irving Steinbloom, producer of some of the greatest folk acts of the 60's, has died, and his children decide to reunite three of their father's biggest acts for a tribute concert. The Folksmen are a Kingston Trio parody, the New Main Street Singers are a parody of the New Christy Minstrels, and Mitch and Mickey are kind of an amalgam of several people including, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Bob Dylan.
This movie is largely improvised, and the true talent of all the performers absolutely shines! There are “fall-out-of-your-seat” funny moments that lead in to “grab-the-hankys” touching moments. Especially powerful is the on-screen chemistry of Mitch and Mickey, played my Eugene Levy and Catharine O'Hara. Their characters had divorced several years back, and in the process of re-uniting they explore the feelings that brought them together in the first place. I personally believe that Levy's performance was Oscar-worthy, but the Academy has a long history of ignoring comic performances for some reason.
The music was equally amazing. All of it was written by cast members, and never for a second do I doubt its authenticity as 60's folk music. There are subtle winks in the music that add to the humor (“A mighty wind's a-blowin'/.../It's blowin' you and me!”), but for the most part the songs are lovely, incredibly well-sung and played, and sometimes very touching, as is the case with “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, which earned the film it's only Oscar nomination, for Best Original Song. It was written by Michael McKean and his wife, actress Annette O'Toole during a long car trip that they were forced to make because all planes had been grounded following the 9/11 attacks in New York City. I can only imagine what this song must mean to the two of them, deeply in love.
Unfortunately, this song did not win the Oscar. The winning song was “Into the West” from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”. As much as I loved that movie, the song was nowhere near the powerhouse that “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” is. “Kiss” really pushes the limits of what music can be in a film. “Into the West” is little more than underscoring, but “Kiss” is an integral part of the story in addition to a wonderful song. However all of the Oscar voters were swept up in LOTR-induced fever and gave that film a whopping 11 statues. I think that in this case it would have been good to share the wealth.
Other nominees were “Scarlet Tide” and “You Will be my Ain True Love” from “Cold Mountain” and “Belleville Reundez-vous” from “The Triplets of Belleville”.
This review was written on June 8, 2008
Directed by Christopher Guest
Starring Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catharine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Bob Ballaban, Ed Begley Jr., Michael Hitchcock, Larry Miller, and Jennifer Coolidge.
This hilarious film is the third “mockumentary” directed by Christopher Guest. It follows in the grand tradition of “Waiting for Guffman” and “Best in Show”. In each of these films Guest utilizes his company of actors to create loving, yet scathing send-ups of people who take themselves way too seriously. In this case, the world of folk music is the target.
Irving Steinbloom, producer of some of the greatest folk acts of the 60's, has died, and his children decide to reunite three of their father's biggest acts for a tribute concert. The Folksmen are a Kingston Trio parody, the New Main Street Singers are a parody of the New Christy Minstrels, and Mitch and Mickey are kind of an amalgam of several people including, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Bob Dylan.
This movie is largely improvised, and the true talent of all the performers absolutely shines! There are “fall-out-of-your-seat” funny moments that lead in to “grab-the-hankys” touching moments. Especially powerful is the on-screen chemistry of Mitch and Mickey, played my Eugene Levy and Catharine O'Hara. Their characters had divorced several years back, and in the process of re-uniting they explore the feelings that brought them together in the first place. I personally believe that Levy's performance was Oscar-worthy, but the Academy has a long history of ignoring comic performances for some reason.
The music was equally amazing. All of it was written by cast members, and never for a second do I doubt its authenticity as 60's folk music. There are subtle winks in the music that add to the humor (“A mighty wind's a-blowin'/.../It's blowin' you and me!”), but for the most part the songs are lovely, incredibly well-sung and played, and sometimes very touching, as is the case with “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow”, which earned the film it's only Oscar nomination, for Best Original Song. It was written by Michael McKean and his wife, actress Annette O'Toole during a long car trip that they were forced to make because all planes had been grounded following the 9/11 attacks in New York City. I can only imagine what this song must mean to the two of them, deeply in love.
Unfortunately, this song did not win the Oscar. The winning song was “Into the West” from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”. As much as I loved that movie, the song was nowhere near the powerhouse that “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” is. “Kiss” really pushes the limits of what music can be in a film. “Into the West” is little more than underscoring, but “Kiss” is an integral part of the story in addition to a wonderful song. However all of the Oscar voters were swept up in LOTR-induced fever and gave that film a whopping 11 statues. I think that in this case it would have been good to share the wealth.
Other nominees were “Scarlet Tide” and “You Will be my Ain True Love” from “Cold Mountain” and “Belleville Reundez-vous” from “The Triplets of Belleville”.
This review was written on June 8, 2008
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