Christopher Guest and his comedic company strike again and this time turn their lens towards Oscar and the hopefuls that clamor for one. Though the film is a funny one, it doesn’t rise to the heights of their other collaborations.
As the initiated will know, Guest and company rarely work from a real script but instead do a bit of controlled improvisation. This time Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy turn their eyes towards the land where they work – Hollywood.
Marilyn Hack (Catherine O’Hara) is a has been actress who is shooting a low budget film called Waiting for Purim. Her costars are Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), an equally washed up actor who’s hocking foot long wiener hotdogs in commercials, Callie Webb (Parker Posey), a young actress who expresses no interest in awards – so she says, Brian Chubb (Christopher Moynihan), a fresh young actor, and Debbie Gilchrist (Rachel Harris), who insists on being called by her character’s name on set.
This epic was written by academics Philip Koontz (Bob Balaban) and Lane Iverson (Michael McKean), produced by airhead Whitney Taylor Brown (Jennifer Coolidge), and directed by Jay Berman (Christopher Guest). An anonymous internet (that’s the one with the email, right?) posting on a blog says that they snuck on the set and that Hack’s performance is sure to net her an Oscar nomination.
Hack is, of course, elated but Callie feigns indifference to acting for awards. Soon gold fever has struck the set when rumor spreads that both Victor Allan Miller and Callie are rumored to be in the running for the gold statues as well. Daft publicist Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins – looking like the love child of Seymour Cassel and Dabney Coleman) springs into action to promote the film and Miller’s equally daft agent Morley Orfkin (Eugene Levy) sees a way to cash in on his less than profitable client.
Soon the hosts of an entertainment program (Jane Lynch and Fred Willard) are doing features on the film and the studio head (Ricky Gervais) is taking interest in making the project he was before ignoring more palatable for mainstream audiences (it’s too Jewish). As the day of the nominations approach, all the players wait with baited breath for their big chance, but will they get it?
As the initiated will know, Guest and company rarely work from a real script but instead do a bit of controlled improvisation. This time Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy turn their eyes towards the land where they work – Hollywood. They skewer the rash of conceited celebs and almost celebs that inhabit tinsel town and the madness that surrounds the race for the recognition associated with that little golden statue.
They round up their usual suspects to play the roles. However, for this outing Levy and Guest take somewhat of a back seat in the acting department and turn the honors over the Catherine O’Hara. She instills Marilyn with the proper amount of world-weariness and pathos and takes her to the heights of absurdity when she thinks that she’s going to get the Oscar.
The other character that struck my fancy was the dimwitted publicist Corey Taft played by John Michael Higgins whose attempts at sounding intelligent come off as platitudes and always fall flat, even though he’s part Choctaw. There are also bit parts for Richard Kind, Ed Begley, Jr., and Larry Miller. Each of the main cast has their comedic highlights, but the whole of the film feels like it’s not the highest rated of the quad-logy.
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but I didn’t have the belly laughs that I remember from the others. From my memory, the others were like documentaries (or mockumentaries) and the camera was a part of the proceedings where this one is actually more film-like. It is an amusing satire on Hollywood, but a hair below Guffman, Best in Show and a Mighty Wind.
For Your Consideration is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by writer/director Christopher Guest and writer/actor Eugene Levy. They also include 38 minutes of deleted scenes, a collection of Home for Purim mock up posters, and the theatrical trailer.
For Your Consideration is a funny film that sends up actors quest for recognition and fame. However, it’s the lesser of the other efforts of the team. There are moments of hilarity, but the other films seemed funnier. Even a lesser effort by Christopher Guest is worth your time though. It will be appreciated by his fans, but just be prepared that it’s not funnier than his other efforts.
For Your Consideration is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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