Waiting for Guffman Movie Review

Although Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy receive screenwriting credit for Waiting for Guffman, cast member Fred Willard says in interviews that the actors were given the outline of each sequence and that all the dialogue was improvised. Believe it or don't! (Who can ever tell whether Fred Willard is kidding or not?) Even though Guest and wife Jamie Lee Curtis are now Lord and Lady Haden-Guest, he really nails what it's like to do an All-American small town show. I remember one nameless town where three local girls made a small splash lip-synching a Broadway show tune and danged if it didn't go to their heads. Corky St. Claire (Guest) USED to live and work in New York theatre (he says), and a real Broadway producer is coming to see Red, White, and Blaine, his amateur extravaganza. The stars are Ron and Sheila Albertson (Willard and Catherine O'Hara), dentist Allan Pearl (Levy), and Libby Mae Brown (Parkey Posey) from the local Dairy Queen. When Corky receives the note from the Broadway producer, he does let it go to his head and becomes full of himself, even though the actors are totally dependent on him! The Blaine town council (annual Blaine budget: $15,000) refuses to give Corky $100,000 to produce the show and he goes on a one-day strike! Et cetera! Since the satire here is more affectionate than condescending, Waiting for Guffman improves on repeat viewings; I've seen it three times. (See The Remains of the Day review.)

1996 (R) 84m/C Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Lewis Arquette, Matt Keeslar, Paul Dooley, Paul Benedict, Bob Balaban, Larry Miller, Brian Doyle-Murray; D: Christopher Guest; W: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy; C: Roberto Schaefer; M: Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest. Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘98: Best Actor (Guest), Best Film, Best Screenplay. VHS, Closed Caption