Rating: 
Summary: Warm, funny satire of the folk music scene
Review: "A Mighty Wind" is one of the warmest, funniest movies I have seen in a long time. Knowledge of the subject matter - the folk singing phenomenon of the 1960s - might help one to enjoy the movie more, but, overall, this isn't necessary because the humor is so broad-based and the characters so innately familiar. For fans of director Christopher Guest's earlier movies, "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman", this one may prove a little disappointing. The satire is less insightful, and the humor has less of a bite. For me, "A Mighty Wind" makes up for these minor deficiencies through sheer exuberance. I found myself smiling and tapping my feet, despite the fact that I don't much like folk music. Like Guest's other films, this one is a mockumentary. After the death of a legendary music promoter, his middle-aged son decides to put on a musical tribute featuring his father's three most famous folk singing groups. Problem is, the groups are now in various states of disarray. Two long ago disbanded, the other one works at theme parks. Tracking them down, getting them to work together again, and, in one case, getting them to even speak to each other makes for an interesting, amusing journey. The concert itself, filmed at New York's Town Hall, is both hilarious and poignant - and more than a bit loony. The stellar cast of Guest regulars includes Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, John Michael Higgins and Parker Posey. The witty script was co-written by Guest and Levy. An element that really impressed me was the music. While it sounds like it comes from the folk music era, all of it is original, and most of it was written by [who else?] the multi-talented Mr. Guest. Some may call "A Mighty Wind" a pleasant diversion, but, if that's what it is, it's a mighty intelligent and entertaining one.
Rating:
Summary: "Hey!, Wha' Happen?"....
Review: I need to say, right off the bat, that Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy are brilliant geniuses. Any review that has the likes of these two, will probably, or should, always contain that description of them. It is because of that, that I am kind of disappointed to say that this latest offering, while still great, isn't as harmonious as I had hoped. It still manages to be special, in the Guest/Levy way, but it doesn't match the ones that came before it. More on that a bit later. A beloved music promoter, who was the one that really made stars out of the film's three fictitious artists, The Folksmen(Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer), Mitch and Mickey(Levy and Catherine 'O'Hara), and The Main Street Singers(Parker Posey, Paul Dooley, amongst others), dies. The promotor's son(played by Guest regular, Bob Balaban), decides on a special send-off for his dad, and plans on a memorial at the town hall in New York City that would also be a concert reuniting the members of these groups. The following film focuses on each of the groups as they prepare, rehearse, and get ready for the big show. As the movie goes on, we find out that the show is not only going to be telvised, but it will air live. Another Guest regular, Ed Begley Jr., plays the TV station's producer. He also gets one knee slapping line when he translates what his swedish hit song he had in the sixties is in english. The one group that gets the most mileage is Mitch And Mickey. There's a lot of layers and depth to these two characters. Maybe more so than in any other Guest film. It is also because of Eugene Levy's brilliant characterization of Mitch, that this duo and their story becomes even more rich. Levy gives a stand-out performance that is unlike anything he's done or seen in a Guest film. When you think about it, it shouldn't be funny. But Levy makes the character so real and three dimensional, that the humor just comes out. A fantastic portrayal. Ms. 'O' Hara is no slouch in that department either. Another favorite from Guest's casts is Fred Willard. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Fred Willard is the man. He's so vastly underrated, but is used quite a lot. Here, he plays Mike LaFontaine, the manager of The Main Street Singers. He's the typical, colorful manager type with inappropriate jokes and bleached blond hair, and he is one of the most hilarious things in the movie. With some of the best lines. Another great performance, but given such little screen time. Why does Fred have such wonderful characters, but they are always given little screen time?. Jennifer Coolidge also appears, and like Fred, is so underused in this film. In what little she is in, she's hilarious. The songs themselves are real folk songs, and are wonderfully written. Even the album covers shown of the artists' varying albums are right on the money. Mitch's solo album covers are especially hilarious. The end show, as there is in all of Guest's films, is a hoot and a half. So, why is this below the other films?. Well, first of all, a number of his great actors are so wasted and not given much to do. Parker Posey and Jane Lynch also fall into this category. Plus, the characterization doesn't seem to be as strong as the previous films. With the exception of Eugene as Mitch. It seemed that the other films fleshed each one a lot more, and I didn't feel it as strongly as this one. Still, it doesn't squander what is still a good movie, just not one that it could of been. It was also nice to see the "Spinal Tap" guys together again. It may not be the same kind of music, but it's always nice to see the three together. All in all, "A Mighty Wind" is a fun film, but it could of been even better.
Rating: 
Summary: What you need to know about Christopher Guest Movies
Review: One thing you need to know about ALL Christoper Guest movies is just how brilliant they are. Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy write a story. They create backgrounds, scenes, histories, ideas, and the plot of the story. But EVERY SINGLE WORD of spoken dialogue is IMPROVISED. It is created on the spot! Just ponder the enormity of that task! Then watch it again, and realize just how talented and hilarious these actors/actresses are! It is unbelievable to me the celever stuff they come up with! If you watch the audio commentary they talk about certain people's abilites. How Fred Willard just gets going and doesn't stop. Guest and Levy usually compile over 60 HOURS of improvised video for each film. Then take 6 - 10 months to edit it down to a masterpiece of about 90 minutes. That said, "A Mighty Wind" is Guest's third film. I personally feel Best in Show was the best. But this one is a close second. The character development is so authentic in this one, that you actually begin to believe the story. Except for the color religion...whoa. The additional scenes are just as funny as the scenes in the movie, and make you wonder what other gold nuggest are to be found resting on the cutting room floor. This is a hilarious movie, a good mockumentary, but with real-life elements subtly planted to make you truly get lost in Guest's world. I even bought the soundtrack, which is a wonderful addition to this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The DVD extras make the film even more enjoyable
Review: If you only saw "A Mighty Wind" in the theater then you need to come back and check out the DVD, because that is where this four star movie picks enters Eisenhower territory and pick up that fifth star. All you need to know is that not only do you get the PBN "broadcast" of the concert finale, which includes the New Main Street Singers doing "Never Did No Wanderin'" without cutting back to the carping of the Folksmen in the Green Room about how their song is being turned into a "toothpaste commercial," but there are deleted scenes of Mitch & Mickey practicing "When You're Next to Me" in her kitchen and then during the concert. Now, whether you think of Mitch & Mickey as Second City TV alumni or as the dad form "American Pie" and the mom from "Home Alone," this should be news of great cheer to you. The music was really what made "A Mighty Wind" so enjoyable, but ironically it is the Achilles heel of the film. These are supposed to be tongue in cheek songs, but the satirical lyrics are more along the lines of licking the inside of the cheek. Actually most of the biting satire comes from the songs by the Folksmen, while the cheerful tunes of the New Main Street Singers do a dead-on parody of the form. With Mitch & Mickey their obvious earnestness and simple harmonies are endearing. Part of it is simply that everyone is going to be touched by the idea of a kissing that did not lead to anything way back when, because that has happened to just about everybody. But a big part of it is also that they sing their songs so sweetly. Throw in the dulcimer solos and what chance do we have to resist their charm? "A Mighty Wind" is not a great example of the mockumentary form, like "This is Spinal Tap" or "Zelig," but it is certainly a solid effort in the genre and extremely enjoyable. Especially if you enjoyed the revival of American folk music that flourished at the end of the 1950s and start of the 1960s. I still maintain it is a mistake to try and translate the faux folk groups in this film into real world counterparts, but you will certainly recognize bits and pieces of various artists in the mix here. Director Christopher Guest and Levy get writing credit here, but of course every performer here adds to the fun.
Rating:
Summary: honestly insincere...
Review: In his 1973 Harvard lectures, "The Unanswered Question" (unreservedly recommended to the musically curious and adventurous), Leonard Bernstein asks whether there's such a thing as "insincere" music. He argues convincingly that no composer intentionally sets out to write insincere music. Of course, insincerity is in the ear of the listener. Some music _is_ insincere, regardless of intent. The folk revival of the '60s was, by definition, insincere. Authentic folk music cannot be written by professional musicians, for the same reason a modern artist cannot produce authentic cave paintings. The commercially successful "folkies" were those who churned out derivative and meretricious material. Their connection with any legitimate folk tradition was in name only. They were merely musicians caught up in, and momentarily successful with, a fad. These are the people blown down by "A Mighty Wind." The Kingston Trio (The Folksmen) and The New Christy Minstrels (The New Main Street Singers) weren't taken seriously even in their own time. Mitch & Mickey (rhymes with icky) are the ur-type of the romantic duo who deliver nauseatingly cloying songs with perfect sincerity. None of them understands the difference between good and bad music. This is subtly but clearly shown when both The Folksmen and The New Main Street Singers fall silent in appreciation when Mitch & Mickey sing their yucky signature tune. Contrary to critical opinion, this film doesn't emit the faintest whiff of love -- or even affection -- for the folk movement. It's an on-target-but-subtle satire that refuses to wear its maliciousness on its sleeve. This might explain why several hilarious scenes that bluntly drove home the point that these people were in it for the money (regardless of how they perceived themselves) were deleted. (The run time is only 83 minutes, so the material wasn't removed for length.) But these scenes wouldn't have been written and filmed if the movie's intent weren't fundamentally unkind. Shearer and Guest are brilliant song parodists ("Break Like the Wind") and could have written "genuine" '60s-style folk songs. They didn't. Simply letting a bunch of inane artists lacking musical- or self-awareness deliver a series of idiotic "folk" songs (that needed to stray only slightly from the original mold to become trenchant parodies) is enough to get the point across to an intelligent audience. Disagree? Note that one definition of wind is "idle, meaningless talk." And then there's the very last line of the title song. This is _not_ "affectionate parody." "A Mighty Wind" is the best of the three recent Guest mockumentaries. It has enough characters to generate plenty of solid laughs without milking any one character or situation to dryness. Though it retains the jerky camera movements of a legitimate documentary, it's shot and edited more like a conventional film. If there's anything to gripe about, it's that many characters lack distinct personalities. The non-principals, especially, speak in Guest's "standardized parody" style. There's a predictable sameness to their attitudes and manner of speech, regardless of the character's age, gender, education, or social background. It weakens the illusion.
Rating: 
Summary: A mighty wind broken?
Review: Since i really enjoyed the previous films by Guest, i was excited to watch this too. I was suprised however to find this film humorless and hard to watch. While the acting and improv were good the film was devoid of humor or substance. I was quite bored throughout. The film focused so much on making sure everything was portrayed as "white bread" wholesome and tender that the characters became unbelievable. The 20 or so characters all had the same personallity so there was no depth or believability. The small amount of humor found and it was very dry and predictable. If this film was screened in the 1950's it may have got a few laughts, and that is assuming brady-bunch conservative types were watching.
I had a really hard time finding any depth or reality in any of characters and therefor the "mockumentary" didnt work this time. I am sorry Guest but you seem to now be living in your own reality and trying to get laughs from Barbara Bush or some white-bread conservative crowd. But Spinal Tap i did love.
Rating:
Summary: Christopher Guest does it again.
Review: Another great comic masterpiece by the great Christopher Guest, whose improvisational films are a bench mark for great comic filmmaking. Christopher Guest proves once again that actors can think on their own two feat when it comes to comedy, and proves that you don't have to cater to the lowest common denominator in order to get real genuine laughs. Special Thanks to Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Eugene Levy, and the rest of his cast of comic geniuses for another great film. I can't recommend it enough.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome movie, pretty good dvd!
Review: More movies should be like A Mighty Wind! Not only was it hillarious, but it also had heart! I still find it hard to believe that they improvise the whole movie! Wow! That takes so much talent, and these performers were up to the task! Top notch in every way! The commentary on the dvd isn't as good as the previous Guest/ Levy ones, but it was still better then most of the other commentaries out there. Rent or buy this movie! You won't be sorry!
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable Documentary, Oops I mean Mockumentary
Review: A MIGHTY WIND is the third "mockumerntary" by the folks who gave us WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and BEST IN SHOW. The film tells the story of the son of a folk music impresario who decides to reunite some of his father's acts. The father has just died, and the son feels that a reunion concert would be a fitting tribute to this folk music legend. The concert will be live from New York and shown live on television.There are three acts: The New Main Street Singers, a glitzy sell out group resented by the Folksmen, a trio of folk purist. The sweethearts of all, singers and fans alike are Mitch and Mickey. We learn about the singers today as well as their glory years. Like its predecessors, A MIGHTY WIND has the feel of a documentary and at some points it is hard to tell it is a spoof. The movie has a great deal of tongue in cheek humor, and if the viewer watches and listens carefully, many laughs can be had, but the film is not quite as funny as BEST IN SHOW. One thing that did surprise me is the music. Even though it is meant to be a parody of the 1960's folk singing craze, and the songs themselves are jokes, the singing is good and adds to the overall entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful film!
Review: I love love love Christopher Guest... and despite reviews that "A Mighty Wind" was less than great, I really loved it. I've seen it twice now, and it was better the second time. I love the other 3 movies, and this is just as funny, but not quite as hysterically so as the others. If you liked "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman," go see this now!
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