Genres

Visitors Review

moop 2012-05-23 03:30:40

Christopher Guest -- Genius!

While not quite as hilarious as "Waiting for Guffman," Christopher Guest'sfollow-up is a heavily-improvised, gut-busting look at dog shows. WhileGuest often receives praise for his writing and directorial skills, hisskills as an actor are phenomenal. The roles Guest played in "Spinal Tap,""The Princess Bride," "Waiting for Guffman," and, now, "Best in Show," areas varied as four roles can be. I sincerely hope he continues to createmovies for years to come.

wchoff 2012-05-22 11:19:39

Better than "Guffman"

I really liked "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best In Show" is funnier. JohnMichael Higgins was hilarious in the role that I would expect ChristopherGuest to play. Fred Willard was also great doing a spoof of JoeGaragiola,who is a "color commentator" for the Westminster Dog Show. Having seentheWestminster Show isn't necessary to get big laughs from this movie, but itsure helps.

2012-05-22 14:17:01

Simply Excellent!!!!!!

This review is from: Best in Show (DVD) Since seeing "Waiting for Guffman" and missing a major portion of the Second City Comedy Troupe, i.e., Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, I have enjoyed Christorpher Guest and his troupe of actors attack certain American institutions via the "mockumentary" format. 'Best In Show: is hands down the very best of Mr. Guests's mockumentaries to date. When you consider that the majority of the film is improvisational, with the characters given a basic structure from which to work and then allowed to "go where their creativity takes them" you get a real appreciation of just what a good ensemble cast can capture/create.This particular outing takes on the world of dog shows and follows the exploits of various dog owners to the Best In Show finals. It is a stitch! There is something here for everybody. Of course the standout is Fred Willard as an obnoxious commentator who really deserved winning the Oscar for supporting actor for which he was nominated. The character study of each dog owner of course sheds infinite light into why they are so obsessed with their dog receiving the top award.The improvisation is top-notch but I would expect nothing less. Catherine O'Hara is generally flawless and here she does not disappoint. She is in RARE form! She and Eugene Levy play off each other quite well. Other cast members that I have seen in "Waiting for Guffman" as well as "A Mighty Wind" continue to be consistently creative and funny and I welcome their efforts. While "Waiting for Guffman" and "A Mighty Wind" pale in comparison, they too reveal flashes of the genius of Mr. Guest and company.A must for your DVD collection and it gets funnier each time you watch. Just don't watch with serious dog owners or they may be somehwat insulted becasue Best In Show while empathizing with its subject matter, does not take it as seriously as some obviously do!

Jonny_Numb 2012-05-22 04:56:33

Smiled--a lot; laughed--not as much

As with the "Waiting for Guffman" DVD, there are a good many deletedscenes to sift through on "Best in Show" (clocking in at nearly 30minutes), most of which are pretty damn funny. After watching the filmitself, I was left wondering why some weren't spliced into the finishedproduct, since "Best" isn't nearly as good as "Guffman" or ChristopherGuest's previous foray into 'mockumentaries,' "This is Spinal Tap."What we're left with is a fitfully funny, faux behind-the-scenes lookat dog competitions with characters that lack the authenticity of thesmall-town performers in "Guffman" and the washed-up metalheads of"Tap"--these people (down to Eugene Levy's 2 left feet and ParkerPosey's braces) smack of artificiality. While the film is funny andultimately satisfying for fans of Guest's observational brand of humor,I found myself smiling more than laughing at "Best in Show."

francine 2012-05-17 00:08:20

I am Hooked!

I want to know if there is anyone else out there that is as hooked onthis movie as much as I am! It seems with this movie people eitheradoreit or don't get it. Each time I view it I catch another hystericalline. I must have seen it about 5 times. If you love people andanimalsthis movie shows the craziness in all of us, and how nuts we getwith our pets. It's hard to pick my favorite character, theywereall wonderful. What a wonderful ensemble cast. Eugene Levy(loopy)was priceless! So was his wife who must have slept with allthosemen! The neurotic couple with the wierermaner(I'm not sure howtospell that dog)were so on the money! If you have an off beatsenseof humor and love animals, rent this movie , you will either loveit or think I'm nuts

2012-05-16 11:57:29

This movie is a real dog.

This was one of the few movies that I watched for less than 20 minutes. I don't understand why it was recommended to me.

2012-05-16 03:31:12

"Best In Show" Maybe not Quite the Best In Show

While I find nothing wrong with Christopher Guest's mocumentary films, and most times even find them incredibly funny, "Best in Show" missed its mark. Guest continously puts his characters in awkwardly funny situations that should make the audience chuckle and laugh, but I just don't see it. The film took itself seriously, which is what most audiences loved, but I just couldn't get into it. The characters are well-rounded and developed, the cinematography is great, but the plot just doesn't go anywhere. The film follows a group of dog show contestants on the road to, and during, a national dog show competition, and that's it. There's no twists. There's no punch lines. There's no relief factor. Just ninety minutes of owners and their dogs. I could have easily gotten the same thing on Animal Planet.

Spleen 2012-05-15 10:30:36

The more movies there are about dogs, the better

A hard movie not to like. I liked it in large part because of the dogs. And I've finally analysed my vague feeling of dissatisfaction: there aren'tenough dogs.The camera focuses only on the dogs whose owners we follow; even during thecompetition itself, we have to strain our eyes to catch a glimpse of anyothers. And the central dogs (shih tsu, bloodhound, Weimeraner, Norwichterrier, and one of those enormous white poodles that have somehow beentransformed into toys) scarcely have any personality at all. Bad mistake:the less personality the dogs have, the less their owners have. It's luckythat at least some of the owners have so much anyway. (The best of them isEugene Levy's Fleck - a gauche yet humane man who isn't so much jealous ofhis wife's former lovers, as sick to death of running intothem.)I suppose the jokes could have been zinged up a bit, too - making a film outof improvised humour is probably a mistake, even when the improvisations arethis good.It's still funny. Maybe my "vague feeling of dissatisfaction" only becameworthy of notice when I'd seen it for the third time.

2012-05-04 21:17:33

Terrific, loving and hilarious satire

A dog-loving friend whose wife judges dog shows has been hounding me to watch this film for years. Finally, I rolled over and fetched a copy. Now, I can tell him not only that I watched this film, but that I virtually wolfed it down. "Best in Show" follows a handful of hopefuls for the coveted top prize at the fictional Mayflower Kennel Dog Show, held in Philadelphia. The film is a mocumentary in which the participants are shown (as by a film crew) in their homes, in interviews, with their friends and preparing for the show. The participants hail from all over the US and represent identifiable types. There's the gay couple, the Southern good-ol' boy, the nerd, the slut, the beauty queen, the irritable yuppies and the lesbian. The characters rarely interact directly -- a scene in which flamboyant Scott Donlan (John Michael Higgins) tries to freak out straight-laced Gerry Fleck (Eugene Levy) is an exception -- and are usually shown in private moments with their animals. We meet a harried hotel manager, the show's fusty manager and the out-tight kennel club president. We also meet the media, in the personages of Buck Laughlin (Fred Willard), an airheaded, sex-obsessed TV host, and Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock), his exasperated dog-expert sidekick. The humor is neither subtle nor mean, and never lets up.The selection of stereotyped characters is hilarious and is generally played sympathetically, but is occasionally predictable. The gay couple fussily redecorates its hotel room -- replacing pillows and tacking up wall coverings. The yuppie couple is neurotically obsessed with clothing brands, psychiatrists and Starbucks. The laconic Southern gentleman runs a fishing gear store and dreams of being a ventriloquist. Funny as it is, the film often takes its parody a bit too close to (and occasionally over the edge of) believability. One character's wife keeps running into old boyfriends who are a bit too graphic in their reminiscences. A bit of restraint here would have gotten the message across better. Still, the DVD's deleted scenes show that material that stretched the characters even further out of shape was mercifully left out of the final product.All in all, "Best in Show" was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday evening. Uncharacteristically, my wife and I laughed out loud quite often. Over-the-top characterizations aside, the film's depictions of the dog show world are fairly accurate (according to my friend, who would know), down to the cast of actually championship dogs. Comedy aside, I found the dog show world fascinating and would love to attend an event. Which goes to show that Christopher Guest's treatments -- whether of heavy metal, folk music or dog shows -- are always loving homages to the eccentricities of the participants and celebrations of their unique contributions to our culture.

Sam Morrison 2012-05-04 05:49:17

Decently funny and amusing

This isn't really one of those comedies that makes you crack up, it'sone of those comedies that's fun to watch. Fred Willard was thehighlight of the film being one of the commentators for the show andmade me laugh with every line that came out of his mouth. Everycharacter was defined and fun to watch but I disliked the couple withthe braces. They would freak out over everything and it's supposed tobe funny, but it really isn't, it just makes you feel bad that the doghas to go through that. The movie had a satisfying ending, where itwrapped everything up with every character. Overall, if you're wantingto see a different kind of comedy or you just want to spend an hour anda half exactly watching something amusing, check it out.

2012-04-29 17:57:46

Funny stuff

This review is from: Best in Show (DVD) This movie is very funny espically considering it is mostly adlib. If you like "The Office" you should like this.

2012-04-28 23:19:12

This was "The Best In Show"

This review is from: Best in Show (DVD) This is one of the most underrated comedies of all-time!

Judy Mayer 2012-04-26 22:34:04

Hard to stop laughing

WHat a fun movie to watch!! The dogs are very cute and look like they arehaving a swell time. The characters certianly cover as wide a variety astheir number. And the announcer perhaps the best lines and unfortunately waslike so many announcers--completely taken by himself and ignorant of theevent he was there to announce. Everyone in the audience laughed and atdifferent lines which made it even funnier. Well worthrenting!

bob the moo 2012-04-26 14:08:39

Wonderfully quirky comedy – best in show by far!

A mock semi-documentary that follows a group of different dog owners as theyprepare for and take part in the annual Mayflower Dog Show, competing for`best in show'.Christopher Guest is very much a great film maker when he's allowed to doit. Here he not only stars but he also directs and co-writes and shows histalents well. The story is not really a straight forward affair and thoselooking for a good narrative have misunderstood this film. The genius ofGuest and Levy's script is that it focuses on the characters rather thanevents. This allows us to watch the people instead of the action – and thisis much more satisfying.The characters are brilliantly observed – from a gay couple, a mismatchedcouple with the wife of checkered past to a stressed out couple who mothertheir dog. All the couples are hilarious – not always laugh out loud funny,but a more quirky comedy. The best odd couple is left to the commentatorswho are a mix of expert and talkative ignorant (the usual real life mix). The observation is so well observed and very realistic and full of hilariouslines – `how do they get the miniature dogs to be miniature – is their aspecial miniaturizing process they go through?' etc.The cast are roundly excellent – this is very much an ensemble piece.Writers Guest and Levy are excellent. Cult queen Parker Posey isexcellently stressed with Hitchcock and McKean and Higgins are funny a theOTT gay couple. The characters are well written but the cast really deliveron the script's potential.Overall many people may be frustrated by the lack of plot but the charactersprovide a wealth of humour. You won't be able to pinpoint many jokes butthe humour is so deeply ingrained in the film that you'll love itall.

birchy 2012-04-24 00:54:47

Enjoyable characters

If you've read the previous 150 comments, you aren't trying to decidewhether to watch this movie or not. You're trying to find someone who likedthe same things about it. I hope you find it.I just enjoyed the characters and their development. I'm not a Spinal Tapjunkie, had to turn American Pie off, it was too "same-old". Those whodon'tlike the characters are either too brain-dead to appreciate the subtlehumor, or are too sophisticated to like anything. It's been a long timesince I've found a video worth watching lately, everything is the same-oldtired stuff. Its nice to find something that I might even watch twice. (Ifound another one during the same rental. If you like interestingcharacters, intelligent/skillful story-telling, check out "LoneStar".)My favorite characters were the gay couple, but it was fun watchingChristopher Guest play a good ole' boy, when I know him best as Count Rugenin The Princess Bride.However, the announcer character was just too asinine. While the kookycharacters aren't realistic, it is possible to believe in them, but not thecrude and lame announcer, who spoiled it. Chevy Chase would have been abetter fit. I can't believe that some of those who liked the subtle humorofthe rest of the show, thought the announcer was the best part.PARENTAL WARNING: Most young children won't get this movie, but may sitthrough it for the kookiness. There are several scenes that I wouldn't feelcomfortable having a preteen watch: description of a sex act, gays kissing,blunt references to sex acts, a fairly explicit photo of gay exhibitionism.Most of the movie is relatively tame, but certain characters offer a steadystream of trash. And there is a running gag about the gal who used to havehundreds of boyfriends, several of which pop up.

2012-04-23 18:25:27

A great effort!

I have to say that this movie recently aired on Comedy Central and itwas addictive to watch couples with their dogs at this Westminsterstyle dog show in Philadelphia. It is great cast with Eugene Levy andCatherine O'Hara paired again in another Christopher Guest film. Levyand O'Hara were wonderful and sweet as the small town odd couple withtheir dog. Parker Posey was wonderful as the yuppy wife. JenniferCoolidge and Jane Lynch provided some laughs. Even Chris Guest played apart as well as directed and co-wrote with Levy the script. There arevery few quality films especially something satirical and wonderful asthis film. It's worth watching! I loved Ed Begley Jr. as the hotelmanager.

Roland E. Zwick 2012-04-20 04:32:00

very enjoyable comedy

Comedies come in many different shapes and forms. Some, like Eddie Murphyvehicles, feature a main character who is demonstrably more intelligent thanany once else around him, so we, in the audience, get to feel superior rightalong with him. We actually derive comic pleasure out of flaunting thatsuperiority. Another type of comedy is one in which the audience is made tofeel superior to EVERYONE on screen. This is the category into whichChristopher Guest's clever and zany mockumentaries, `Waiting for Guffman'and now `Best of Show,' belong. So how does Guest manage to pull off this delicate high wire act of makingus feel better than the characters on screen yet not having the movie slideover into cruelty and sadism? Quite simply, he makes us see ourselves inthe characters at the very same time we are laughing at them. As a shrewdobserver of human nature, Guest casts a scathing, yet at the same timeutterly affectionate, eye on the bizarre rituals of small town MiddleAmerica. In the case of `Best in Show,' Guest opens up to us the strangemilieu of dog show competitions and the people involved in them. As in`Waiting For Guffman,' he has assembled a cast of lovably eccentriccharacters to both act out the little dramas of their lives and address theaudience directly in the form of mock interviews. There is no point inreiterating the specifics of the many colorful characters whose lives wefollow in the course of the film. Those you can check out for yourself. Suffice it to say that Guest makes us see many of our own obsessions,peculiarities and insecurities reflected in these people. True, competitivedog shows may not be our own particular cup of tea, but we all fixate onSOMETHING that the rest of the world seems ignorantly unwilling tounderstand, something we may hide from our fellow men simply because theywill not `get it.' `Best in Show' lets us laugh at ourselves without ourhaving to reveal our own personal sore spot.The large and superb cast is called upon to hit just the right comic note,ranging from subtle pathos to over-the-top absurdity – and it is a challengethe actors meet with flying colors. Perhaps to demonstrate his egalitarianspirit, Guest gives some of his funniest bits to Fred Willard as a showannouncer who has not a clue as to the finer points of the competition. Asthe one person not initiated into the mysteries of the proceedings,Willard's character seems more out of touch than the eccentrics who get itall.On the laugh meter, `Best of Show' doesn't rate quite as high as `WaitingFor Guffman.' But for its moments of homespun cleverness and charm, it isdefinitely a comedy well worth checking out for yourself. `Best in Show'indeed!

2012-04-20 00:23:53

Painful

This movie truly mocks people who accept their dogs as another member of their dysfuntional families.Extremely corny (on purpose, I know, but over the top), a little erotic (but almost not in a sexual way), and completely bizarre... I really hated it. I know it was a mockumentary and I could see what it was supposed to be, but it missed the mark.The characters weren't funny at all- They made me confused, but not in a good way. I didn't laugh at their quirks and a lot of them made me uncomfortable. The entire movie was a mistake to watch.

zanyrumon 2012-04-11 04:53:02

just like the title -

If this doesn't make you laugh out loud, you are in deep kimshee. Mr.Guestand the gang play people we've all met and give us a chance to laugh atthemand, in that, at ourselves. Many, many lines to hold on to -- StilllikeGuffman better - and Spinal Tap rules, but this is a keeper

lovesamystery32 2012-04-10 10:46:15

Guest steals the show

If it had not been for Christopher Guest's hilarious role, I would havestopped watching this movie after 20 minutes. The jokes were flat, themovie choppy and slow paced, certain characters were obnoxious andpainfulto watch, but Guest's character kept me laughing so I stuck with it.I do feel there are much better choices out there!