Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Christopher Guest
Cast :
Catherine O’Hara”¦”¦”¦.Marilyn Hack
Ed Begley Jr………..Sandy Lane
Eugene Levy…………Morley Orfkin
Harry Shearer………Victor Allan Miller
Fred Willard”¦”¦”¦.Chuck Porter
Harry Shearer”¦”¦”¦.Victor Allan Miller
Christopher Guest has to his credit one of the greatest comedies put to celluloid in This is Spinal Tap; while he may not have directed it, he did write the film and has since used the pioneering ‘mockumentary’ style from that film for others. Films like Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show may not have approached the quality of Spinal Tap, which ranks as one of the great comedies of the last 30 years, but they did establish Guest as a director capable of crafting a quirky and entertaining comedy time and time again. This time around he’s turning his satire to Hollywood: specifically, awards season.
For Your Consideration follows the production of a small independent film called “Home for Thanksgiving’,” a weepy melodrama, and its unlikely consideration for an Academy Award. Starring most of the usual suspects of a Guest production (Fred Williard, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy and Harry Shearer amongst others), the film follows the production of the film as an independent film through its unlikely awards nomination after some internet buzz. Complete with requisite awards hoopla, production issues and vapid television hosts, For Your Consideration is quite the entertaining film.
While Guest doesn’t go nearly as far as he could in spoofing the whole awards culture, which holds back the film from being one of the crown jewels of his film collection, it is a good parody of the subject matter intended as Guest unloads plenty of shots at the whole process. From the way the nomination process works, with internet buzz and speculations making the Oscars much more of a publicity process than an acting one than it once was, the Guest takes aim at nearly everything about it. There’s plenty of humor to go around, as the film stands up as one of the better comedies of this year in a rather lackluster year for the genre.
It doesn’t hurt that Guest has most of his regulars back for the film. Eugene Levy, Harry Shearer and Fred Williard, amongst others, all return for yet another go round with Guest. The sort of subject matter lends itself to parody nowadays and Guest is apt to let some good zingers go. There’s enough good comedy bits scattered throughout to keep the film funny and entertaining, but Guest pulls plenty of punches throughout the film to presumably continue to work in the industry in a high profile position.
In the end scheme of things, For Your Consideration rightfully belongs in the second tier of Christopher Guest movies, holding rank with Waiting for Guffman and right underneath Best in Show and This is Spinal Tap.
