Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious Mockumentry
Review: One of the ways critics can tell how popular a movie is going to be is the number people who ask "When is it opening?" and "Have you seen it?"Based on that totally unscientific method, I rank A Mighty Wind second only to The Matrix Reloaded as the can't-wait-to-see-it movie of the year so far. For all those eager fans yearning to know how Christopher Guest and company followed up Waiting For Guffman from 1996 and Best in Show from 2000, I have good news: People, I loved this movie. The premise is that the manager of several acts that were popular during the heyday of folk music has died, and his former clients assembled for a live, televised tribute at New York's Town Hall. The organizer is the dead man's son, Jonathan Steinbloom (Bob Balaban), a man so nervous that floral arrangements cause him anxiety. The musical groups are the New Main Street Singers, a peppy "neuf-tet" whose nine members include a color-worshipping couple (Jane Lynch and John Michael Higgins); Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara), once the sweethearts of the folk world; and The Folksmen, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, who are as funny playing aging folkies as they were as rockers in This is Spinal Tap, the eternally-hilarious 1984 heavy-metal spoof directed by Rob Reiner. As they prepare for the occasion, the musicians reveal a cascade of jealousies, neuroses, insecurities, delusions and weird personal history that add up to a remarkably empathetic reflection of lives a lot like anyone else's - that is, full of tangents and reversals and unexpected results. It's just these lives are much funnier than most. The Guest method of moviemaking is unique; working from the wri- ters' story outline, the actors improvise dialogue throughout rehearsals to develop a complete narrative. It takes very, very smart actors to make the process work, and Mighty Wind is replete with some of the best, many of them seasoned writers and directors as well as performers. In the years since Spinal Tap, the fake documentary has become a staple of low-budget movie-making. Yet, none of the many copies that followed came close to equaling the sheer lacerating wit of the the original. Until, that is, Guest (and co-writer Levy) took over directing chores for the equally demented Guffman, about a small-town theatrical production, and the dog-show romp Best in Show. The ensemble put together for those two films returns in Mighty Wind, including Balaban, Parker Posey, Don Lake and the magically expressive O'Hara. Every one of them gets moments of great comic wit, but the funniest of the returning crew is Fred Willard. As a former sitcom actor now managing the New Main Street Singers, he elevates his signature creation - the clueless mook who is deeply, permanently delighted with himself - to pure art. It's just too bad we don't give knighthoods for comedy in this country. Close on his heels in the sheer-hysteria ranks is Jennifer Coolidge as publicity agent Amber Cole; with only a few minutes on screen she had the audience literally howling. And if that's not what makes a comedy great, I don't know what does
Rating:
Summary: An affectionate parody
Review: One of my friends told me I would smile throughout the film. I did more than that. I often laughed. A kid forced to wear a football helmet while playing chess. A record company so cheap it didn't put holes in the middle of the records. Yet, for all the laughs, there was poignancy--Eugene Levy as a folk singer who had gone bonkers, for example. Even though the songs are supposed to be spoofs (the actors wrote the songs, played the instruments and sang) some of them--such as those of Mitch and Mickey--really aren't that bad and might have gotten some airplay in those days. Others, like the Toothpaste People, really _are_ parodies, but darn good ones. This is a movie that many missed at the theater, but since it's now available on DVD, take a look. It's a treat, I promise you.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny, but even more so if you know that they are doing.
Review: My brother has a saying: The more you know, the more jokes you get. If you have a vague notion of the "folk" movement, this movie is amusing. If you can identify The Limeliters, The New Christy Minstrals, and the The Serendipity Singers, this movie is hilarious. It's Christopher Guest's usual well-researched mockumentary. Guest does a scathing imitation of a middle aged Noel Paul Stookey. (Peter, Paul and Mary.)(Or was he imitating Peter? they made money on the fact that they looked so the same...) Harry Shearer pontificates just like Lou Gottlieb of The Limeliters. (Lou, by the way, KNEW he was pontificating--he was a professor and spoke 5 languages and could poke fun at himself and his stuffiness in all 5 of them.) Their group, "The Folksmen," looks like the Kingston Trio and sounds like the Limeliters, which is a horridly funny combination if you know that people used to choose one or the other the way they divide today over Sondheim and Webber. The irritatingly false high spirits of the New Christy and Serendipity Singers are well parodied in the "New Main Street Singers," who try to give the impression of spontaneous music while onstage, and nag at each other about whether the harmony is a "6th" or an "8th" when in rehearsal. I can't figure out who "Mitch and Mickey" are supposed to be, but I do remember reading about how silly it was for Bob Dylan to pretend not to be Jewish while Pete Seeger was singing in Hebrew, and here Eugene Levy seems to be playing a Jewish boy in a "mainstream" folk duo. "Mickey" performs the wistful "how far away is my love" songs Peter Paul and Mary did, only with Judy Collins's autoharp. Maybe it's a liability that Guest mixed so many real groups into the three pretend ones in this movie. I wonder why, also, he didn't seem interested in parodying these greats: Pete (--and the Weavers), Woody, Arlo. Did he not have time? Was it too difficult to attempt? There's a sweet moment, showing both how non-spontaneous ANY form of music is once you start performing for an audience, and how a real musician loves what he does. It's the night of the big performance, all three groups paying tribute to their impresario, and McKean's character hears that "Mitch and Mickey" are about to start. He recognizes the song, and says, sincerely, "Oh, this is that pretty one." Then he realizes that the song involves a kiss (between people now long divorced), grins, and says, "I wonder how they are going to handle THAT!" I thought A Mighty Wind was funnier than Spinal Tap. Then again, in Spinal Tap, which I enjoyed, I knew I wasn't getting the jokes.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: This is a hilarious movie - very clever. Love the cast.
Rating:
Summary: Funny as Folk
Review: While not as outrageously funny as Christopher Guest's previous documentary-styled comedies, A Mighty Wind has two things the others lacked: heart (supplied by subtle and outstanding performances by Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy) and an amazing soundtrack--dozens of original, slightly tongue-in-cheek folk ditties. It'll make you want to pick up an autoharp and harmonize your way to heaven.
Rating: 
Summary: the Spinal Tap Element didn't come enough for me
Review: I found this film Boring&the Humor didn't really move me at all.Eugene Levy who I find Funny seemed to be just kinda there for me.I was hoping for a Connection to the Beat Poets,&other elements of Folk Music&a take inside of what Bob Dylan was doing&about but this film stalled&lost it's movement really fast to me.this is Satire felt like Wierd Al was behind more so than somone who came up with Spinal Tap.
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant breeze
Review: This film follows the structure and sensibilities of "Best in Show", spending a good deal of time introducing its sometimes over-the-top comic characters, with Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara again shining, then ends with the amusing show itself. I got a lot of smiles, a few laughs, and even a touching moment or two in between the comic moments. It's a loving satire that tips its hat to a lost musical genre, and to me, someone who finds the once-hilarious Spinal Tap not to have aged well, I'd rather curl up with this DVD than that one. I consider this one a worthwhile rental but not worth buying to watch over and over. On the other hand, I agree with reviewers who say if you loved "Best in Show" you'll feel the same about this - it's really the identical formula applied to imaginary folksingers.
Rating:
Summary: Funny /Good - but Subtle
Review: I liked this better on DVD than I did when seeing it in the theatre. I had expected a laugh-out-loud type of movie, but it was much more subtle than 'Waiting for Guffman' or 'Best in Show'. Though mostly the same cast as the aforementioned movies - this is clearly Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara's movie. Levy expertly delivers an unnerving performance of a slightly off-center former folk singer. It's tough to watch him (does he ever blink?). O'Hara probably has her straightest role in any movie that really shows what she is capable of. McKean, Shear and (especially) Guest nail the folk trio. Guest's vibrato is dead-on. The two other movies did not suffer from the size of their casts - 'A Mighty Wind' almost does. Some of the cast so good in the other movies are under-utilized - especially Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock. For out-and-out laughs, Jennifer Coolidge hits all her marks. For what limited time she was on screen - she used every second perfectly (even in one of the delete scenes). The music is actually good - and well performed. O'Hara's song at her husband's 'Sure-Flo' booth is hilarious - though you might need to really look for it in it's entriety in the deleted scenes...and play it a few times to really hear it all. There are a number of deleted scenes - only a few which you kind of wish made it into the movie (Jennifer Coolidge, again). But for the amount of things they film to get into the mostly improvised film - you would hope for some really hilarious material, but it's not here. The one missing thing: The Folksmen's cover of the Rolling Stone's 'Start Me Up'. Still worth seeing it - or owning it.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing collaborative achievement!
Review: This film amazed me by virtue of the skillful performances of the cast. And I'm not writing about their acting alone. The whole ensemble's musical skills as performers and composers, are first rate. It is also worth noting that, much as is found in Christopher Guest's other films, there is extensive improvisation by all of the cast members. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the music and the deep affection that this film displayed for the genre of Folk Music. I'm sure that people of all ages will enjoy this picture, but it particularly resonates for those of us who fondly remember the original thing.
Rating:
Summary: Wha' happened?
Review: I laughed my butt off, that's what. This latest mockumentary from Guest and Co. is very, very funny. The songs are what tips it over the edge, although the improv'd dialogue is great, too. Anyone who liked their earlier work should take the time to see this in-depth look at the lighter side of folk music.
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