Movie Reviews

Christopher Guest's new film A Mighty Wind is a mockumentary (fake documentary) about a group of folk musicians who gather together for a concert to celebrate the life of a recently-deceased popular folk-concert promoter.

If you've seen any of Guest's other films, which include This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show (my favourite), you'll have a pretty good idea about what to expect here. The plot (though it's not really even much of a plot -- it's more of a 'situation') serves mainly to showcase a wide variety of bizarre and quirky characters, which, in this case, come mainly from the three different folk bands who are participating in the concert. "The New Main Street Singers" are the most 'commercial' of the bands; they wear gaudy 'uniforms' while playing to uninterested crowds at places like amusement parks, and seem to be slightly frowned-upon by the more 'serious' folk artists. "The Folksmen" are one such group. They used to be very popular back in the day, in spite of some of the difficulties that plagued their production company's distribution network (such as the fact that it didn't have one). Of the three fictional bands that perform in A Mighty Wind, The Folksmen were the most fun to listen to, I think. The headlining act of the show is the duo of Mitch and Mickey, who hadn't spoken to each other since a severe falling-out in the 60s, which ultimately sent Mitch into a pyschiatric ward. The very funny Eugene Levy plays Mitch as a guy who's so out of it that every single word he says comes out slowly and with much effort. It's quite funny at some times, but a little annoying at others.

A Mighty Wind is a really fun movie, with some really fun music (though I'm not about to go and start a folk-music collection, thank you very much). The actors do a really great job, and much of the dialogue is improvisational, which is pretty refreshing. If I have one complaint it's that perhaps the majority of the characters are simply too likeable and too 'normal'; I wish they'd gone a little more over-the-top. There were some nicely-sentimental moments in the film, but I would've liked more quirky and bizarre moments, too.

Regardless, this was still a very fun way to spend ninety minutes.