Rating: 
Summary: Something of a disappointment
Review: After enjoying "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show", I was eager to see this earlier installment, but "Guffman" was not as funny, subtle or memorable. Certainly, if you are a hardcore fan of Guest and company, you'll want to see it, but anyone else might find it difficult to watch. There are some shining moments, but not enough to justify the time spent.
Rating: 
Summary: Best characters yet
Review: Anyone who has ever participated in amateur theater should watch this film. Or anyone who wants to laugh. It is very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Very Very Funny
Review: If you liked Spinal Tap or Best in Show, you will like this.If you didn't, you won't. In my opinion, Waiting for Guffman surpasses Best in Show, though the latter was higher on the public radar. In any case, the recent release of A Mighty Wind is very encouraging, particularly in the continued use of much of the same cast. Each installment of the Christopher Guest Troupe is like a highly refined cinematic Carol Burnett Show. My only complaint about this DVD is that it would have been relatively easy to provide an "uninterrupted version" of Red, White & Blaine. While you can get almost the entirety of the fake musical through the main movie & additional scenes, it requires some jumping around. I presume that this footage actually exists somewhere, and the fake musical is so successfully done that it could almost stand on its own.
Rating:
Summary: "You will drool at the splendor of our magic stools!"
Review: The director/writer/actor Christopher Guest is entranced by the blessed state of cluelessness at the very margins of show business, and this film may be his masterpeice on the subject. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, of course, is about the production of an original musical, "Red, White and Blaine," to celebrate the sesquicentennial of a tiny town in Missouri, "the stool capital of the world." The musical has been written and is being directed by a town outsider, Corky St. Clair (Guest in a favorite role he's played before under other circumstances), whom the townspeople just adore, and he has cast several of them in his little repertoire. The great humor of the piece, of course, is in how self-deluded the Blaineites are about both Corky's and their own abilities, but the joke never seems either one-note nor cruel. Guest's genius is in allowing his characters to be silly without ever being truly pathetic: he allows them their dignity, even in the silly-great sequence where they audition for the musical. (Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard, as "the Lunts of Blaine," are especially funny here in their characters' audition piece, a combination of a Taster's Choice commercial and "Midnight at the Oasis.") You wonder how Guest will top this sequence, but he does with the musical itself which is both hilarious goony and also somehow transcendent at the same time. You laugh at the completely blissed-out reaction of the Blaine city council members sitting in the audience (most memorably Michael Hitchcock), but you also identify with their joy at some level too. An added bonus on this DVD are several of the songs from "Red, White and Blaine" Guest felt compelled to cut, including the haunting and hysterically complicated "Nothing Ever Happens in Blaine" which had to be excised from the main version (so as not to condescend to the town) but which is wonderful to see nonetheless... if only for Catherine O'Hara's amazing way of dancing in high heels with her knees bend inwards.
Rating:
Summary: Christopher Guest, A Comical Genius!!
Review: The thing about Christopher Guest is you either love his movies or you hate them. I really can't see how some people just absolutely find his movies unbearable. I personally think the man is a comical genius and I could not hold back laughter during this movie if my life depended on it. All in all, this a great comedy with great actors like Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and Christopher Guest. If you like this movie check out his other mockumentaries: This is Spinal Tap, his first movie, its about a brittish rock band who is having a reunion tour, it's absolutely hilarious; then theres Best in Show, a movie about an annual dog show, it's my personal least favorite but it's still great. Also check out A Mighty Wind, Christopher Guests newest movie, it's about folk singers and is in theaters now!
Rating:
Summary: All hail the King of the Mockumentary!
Review: Christopher Guest, I'm convinced, is the King of the Mockumentary. After all, this guy co-wrote Spinal Tap. Waiting for Guffman, however, is my favorite Christopher Guest movie so far. I've watched it over and over, and I never get sick of it. Guest plays Corky St. Clair, an actor who gave up his life acting in the Big Apple "off-off-off-off-Broadway" and settles in the small but fascinating town of Blaine, Missouri (famous for its nit-wit founder, its production of stools, and its alien sightings). Blaine is preparing for their big sesquicentennial celebration, and Corky is directing the musical production, Red, White, and Blaine, starring the local dentist (co-writer Eugene Levy), the town's singing and dancing travel agents (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), a Dairy Queen counter girl (Parker Posey), and a mechanic (Matt Keeslar). Corky's convinced that the production will be absolutely spectacular, so he invites New York talent scouts to come and check it out. And when one, Mr. Mort Guffman, announces that he plans to attend, rehearsals get even more intense for the stars of the Stool Capital of America. Waiting for Guffman is side-ache hilarious. Christopher Guest is outstanding as Corky, the flamboyant drama queen. He's sure to make you laugh out loud every time he appears on the screen. And while the rest of the cast just adds to the hilarity of it all, Corky steals the show. He alone makes this movie worthy of a place in your DVD collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Not funny at all!
Review: This movie isn't funny, at least if your I.Q. is higher than 50. The actors play well but the script is lower than medium. I recomend you just rent this, if you are curious, from your video store and you don't throw your money out the window by buying it. There are tons of much funnier movies than this. Buy South Park!
Rating:
Summary: Guest at his best
Review: This movie is my all time favorite Christopher Guest movie. Many people don't realize how funny it really is. There are jokes and lines that most people don't catch so that makes them think that the movie [is bad]. I'm only 16 and think this movie is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Christopher Guest is right up there with Mel Brooks and the Monty Python crew.
Rating:
Summary: COMEDIC GENIUS
Review: Christopher Guest has a gift for comedy. This satire-rich film is simply outstanding. I can only imagine what a great time Guest had in creating this film.
If you enjoy "Best in Show," this is guaranteed to please you. Just as fabulous, "Waiting for Guffman" is of rare quality.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted to like it - but didn't
Review: I've liked his other work - but this movie was painfull.
|
