Showing posts with label Christopher Guest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christopher Guest. Show all posts

Monday, October 07, 2013

1921 - This is Spinal Tap


I decided to go back to the beginning - and I don't know if it's Rob Reiner directing here that makes the difference, but this is a phenomenal film for a few reasons.  First off - it's ridiculous in the way that all Guest mockumentaries are - but what's different about this one is that it feels authentic.  The world is grounded by some things that make me buy into the concept.  There's tremendous heart and sadness as we watch these poor bastards turn into nobodies.  It's beautiful.  It's also filled with the iconic and hilarious bits that we all recall, but what really strikes me here is the arc of the relationships and I think that's what makes this one truly special.  There's a connection there.  This all means something to them, and so it really does mean something to us.  I'm in pre-production on something in a similar vein so it's nice to rewatch a master work like this for reference. 
If you've never seen this film and you're either a music or comedy lover, do yourself a massive favor and watch this straight away.  There's a good chance I might even revisit it again in the upcoming weeks.

1920 - A Mighty Wind


Re-watched this film for research on a project I'm getting ready for.  I have to be honest in that this isn't my favourite Guest film.  I love the musical aspect of it, but I just feel like it's missing a point to the whole thing.  I'm not quite sure why we're following these people or what Guest is trying to get at with the idea of following these folk stars around - the themes and whatnot.  I love a lot of the performances here, but mostly Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, who are fantastic and somewhat heartbreaking.  Everyone else just feels like they're coming out to do something fun - which it is.  There's some characters here that I just downright don't enjoy at all - but it's no fun obsessing over that :)
It's a very welcome additional to Guest's work, but no where close to my favorite.