Christopher Guest follows up his hilarious mockumentary BEST IN SHOW with this parody of the folk music industry. Three well-known folk groups come together for a reunion concert in New York City, singing brilliantly funny songs and producing uniquely bizarre laughs along the way. The Folksmen are an all-male trio consisting of an upright bass, a banjo, a guitar, and a whole lot of melody. Hilarious scenes of the group rehearsing casually in the kitchen, while reflecting on bygone days, are some of the most candidly funny moments in the film. Fake archival photos of the band, combined with the names of their hit songs--"Hitchin'", Singin'", "Ramblin'", "Wishin'", and "Pickin'"--generate wonderfully dry jokes. When not peering in on the Folksmen, the film spends time getting to know Mitch and Mickey, a popular duo and a great folk love story. Mitch and Mickey talk openly about the emotional torment of their breakup, though it is clearly difficult for them. However, back together again, they manage to rehearse--and perform--their famous love song that requires a dramatic kiss in the middle. Last but not least are The New Main Street Singers, a raucous group of nine--a neuftette--that wear matching outfits and sing upbeat songs. Some of the more bizarre personalities in the film come out of this group, bringing a tone to this folk odyssey that recalls moments from Guest's BEST IN SHOW and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. A hollerin' good time, A MIGHTY WIND is yet another comic masterpiece from Guest, whose films resonate with viewers long after they're through, and easily lend themselves to repeat viewings.
Theatrical Release Date: April 16, 2003 (Limited)
Review 1:
"...A gift from comedy heaven..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.64 05/01/2003
Review 2:
"...[A] sublime, dizzying satire of American folk music....A movie that re-creates its object of satire with such pitch perfect flair that all but erases the line between derision and love..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.123 04/25/2003
Review 3:
"...The gifted repertory company again creates an amusing gallery of incisively observed characters, riffing off each other with enjoyment levels that frequently prove contagious..."
Source: Variety
p.19-31 04/14/2003
Review 4:
...[With] the same blend of serious musicality and unabashed silliness that the trio injected into their metal tunes for THIS IS SPINAL TAP, gently ribbing their chosen musical form even as they pay it loving homage..."
Source: Box Office
p.60 06/01/2003
Review 5:
"Affectionate, often very funny....[With] typically irresistible performances."
Source: Uncut
p.139 07/01/2004
Review 6:
"...Few filmmakers today can show us our most ridiculous selves with as much merciless wit and tender mercy..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C1 04/16/2003
Review 7:
"...Hilarious..."
Source: Movieline's Hollywood Life
p.118 09/01/2003
Review 8:
"...The music may be perfectly awful -- actually it is both perfect and awful -- but its power, this movie suggest is nothing to laugh at. Or so you might realize, if you could only stop laughing long enough to form the thought..."
Source: New York Times
p.E1 04/16/2003
Review 9:
"...The satire is so deadpan that you sometimes have to pinch yourself to realize how dead-on it is....The unmatchable Fred Willard tears it up..."
Source: USA Today
p.13D 04/18/2003
Review 10:
"...There is plenty of top-flight comedy in this brisk picture..."
Source: Premiere
p.18-19 05/01/2003
Review 11:
"[T]he filmmakers have an obvious knowledge of and affection for the music, creating a rich game of reference-spotting for the folk cognoscenti."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.54 02/01/2004
Shopping Cart:
