For Your Consideration
I think the problem with a lot of the criticism of this movie might be that people go in expecting the wrong thing. Watching all the publicity for the movie recently I’ve been sort of ashamed to find out that I’ve somehow managed to miss out on every Christopher Guest film since This is Spinal Tap, but I still went in ready for comedy, sidesplitting if at all possible. The fact is, it’s not that funny – but to level that as a criticism at the film would be to simply misunderstand it.
Sure, there are lots of laughs along the way – I particularly loved the “Regis and Kelly” style Hollywood show, creepily close to the truth – but I guess that’s the problem, if it’s a problem … this movie really glides perilously close to the edge, so close that it in the end, when Catherine O’Hara says, “I’m comfortable in my own skin,” at the end, it’s far from the comedy most will expect – it’s actually almost shatteringly depressing.
But though at times it’s really mean, at others far too obvious, at every discomfort I was surprised to find myself still laughing. I’d probably rather watch a few episodes of “Extras” and This is Spinal Tap than this, but it certainly wasn’t an almighty waste of time.
BTW, yes I just watched and reviewed two movies on a work day, so yay me.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
[...] For Your Consideration Christopher Guest [...]
May 17th, 2007 at 2:24 am
[...] This has its moments but it never really managed to grab my attention far beyond the background level. I think it comes down to the fact that I’m sure you could actually make a genuine documentary of this particular world and, if anything, it’d be funnier. In the end it felt a lot to me like that excruciating last hour of International Velvet – I mean, the majority of this movie is the dog show itself. What is less cinematic than dogs and their owners walking repeatedly over green felt? And I realise, the answer to that is that this movie isn’t about being cinematic, it’s about the laughs; but still – there is more of the dogs and the green felt than there are laughs. Seriously, this is one case where I’d seriously recommend a reality TV show on the same theme more. Eugene Levy’s great, though: it’s amazing what comedy teeth can do for a guy who pretty much always plays himself, lol. I think I’m just not a great Christopher Guest fan in the end … Spinal Tap was absolutely something else, and For Your Consideration had a little disturbing edge to it that intrigued me a little, but this one really gives me the feeling that everything since Spinal has just been trying in vain to rehash a non-existent formula. [...]