London Film Festival was great, as was Kevin Smith chatting away at the Indigo 02
London Film Festival was great, as was Kevin Smith chatting away at the Indigo 02
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Christopher Guest will be forever known for two things.. first for being married to Jamie Lee Curtis and secondly for the film Spinal Tap, the seminal spoof rock documentary. Spinal Tap managed to root themselves in film, and heavy rock, folklore with some of the hilarious, seemingly spot on portrayals of a rock band. Even though Guest and compatriots have done better spoof films (Best In Show, about dog competitions like Crufts) Spinal tap has been heard of if not seen by a lot of people.
FYC (For Your Consideration not Fine Young Cannibals!) is again written by Guest, along with frequent collaborator Eugene Levy (the dad in American Pie), and also directed by him. He again uses a lot of the ensemble of stars from his previous films, who are no doubt used to the improvisational style of his film making, including Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge and Bob Balaban amongst others. FYC is also once again a spoof documentary, this time though Guest and his friends are bringing a personal insight
into the proceedings by concentrating on their own industry… movies and actors, and specifically the Oscar nominations and those films, actors etc that are put forward to the industry, as they say these people are put forward For Your Consideration.
The ‘documentary’ crew follows the making of a small scale drama called ‘Home For Poodam’. Interviewing the stars, two old timers and two newcomers, as they make the film. From start to finish we see how hype, promotion, agents and the suits (Ricky Gervais as the big executive with his own ideas about the film which are at odds with the actual makers) all affect what goes into a film and how who has control is not always as obvious as you might think.
As usual for a guest film FYC has a very clever script, encompassing both the comedy that can be wrung out of a fly on the wall style ‘mockumentary’ and from the makers insider views and opinions on the whole Hollywood system and awards ceremonies. That whole insiders view is something that keeps you wondering how much of the comedy, the internal wranglings and annoying execs are real. You do get the feeling that maybe, just maybe guest isn’t just making comedy out of it but that it is also very relevant to his own film making trials and tribulations. Has he found himself stuck in a situation now where the only way he can get any funding is to make a mockumentary style film?
FYC is a good film, making you laugh enough to qualify as a worthwhile comedy and interesting enough to keep you following the story. What it doesn’t have is that certain something, that bite to its comedy. That extra little thing that both Spinal Tap and Best In Show had, that bit of magic that will keep it in your memory long after you’ve seen it. As enjoyable as Guests mockumentaries are they are becoming much of a muchness, this one and A Mighty Wind were not up to the high expectations he has given me. They are still worth watching but in the age old law of diminishing returns each one offers less to the regular viewer of his films. Of course that may mean that if this is the first one of his films that you have seen that you may find this highly original and extremely funny, especially if you have an interest in films as well.
What is still impressive is the ‘improv’ style of the dialogue. By using the regular band of actors and actresses Guest has built up a group who not only know how he works but also work extremely well together. Often there is an obvious lack of chemistry and or timing in comedies. If the stars don’t mix or play off each other the film, no matter how good, can fall flat. In this case there is no danger of that happening, this crew have honed their style to perfection and manage to make it all seem real, even in the most ridiculous of situations. FYC is an interesting film to see for a number of reasons, seeing the inside workings of the film industry and especially the way people react when the possibility of Oscar nominations come up is fascinating in its own right. The acting and the dialogue are both superb, its just the script that doesn’t quite hit all the buttons.
Pictures of For Your Consideration (DVD)
The cast filming 'Welcome To'
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Comedy - Director: Tony Dow - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: John Challis, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tessa Peake-Jones, Gwyneth Strong
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Director Christopher Guest reunites his star-packed team from A Mighty Wind, Best in Show ... more
and Spinal Tap for this hilarious, keen-edged comedy set in a town where Oscar is the backbone of an industry not known for having a backbone.In For Your Consider...
Advantages: very funny in places, seth green is in it! Disadvantages: rather gruesome special effects in places, lots of pot smoking can offend some viewers
judithritchie 11.07.2001 ·
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