Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Guest's best film, but still terrifically funny, November 19, 2006
Bad news, good news. Bad news first: this is probably Christopher Guest's weakest film to date. Good news: it is still one of the funniest films of the year. If you are a fan of WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, BEST IN SHOW, and A MIGHTY WIND, you will find many things in this movie to love and even more to laugh at, though it almost certainly won't rival any of those for your affection. Part of the reason is the dropping of the documentary style of the earlier films. Here the camera has to assume a more detached, less ironic pose, and something is lost as a result. Still, Guest's touch is definitely still present throughout mot of the film, and although it is definitely a step below his other films, it is by no means a deep disappointment.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION tells the story of the filming of the Hollywood movie HOME FOR PURIM, a period film set during WW II telling the story of the dying mother in a Jewish family living in the deep South. One of the first truly funny, weird moments comes when this Southern film-family, with their deep drawls, start dropping Yiddish words into their conversation. While filming the buzz that one or more of the actors might get Oscar nominations -- perhaps sparked by a random comment in an Internet chat room (or as John Michael Higgins's character puts it: the World Wide Interweb) -- and upper level studio execs step in and change the film from the ethnic HOME FOR PURIM and turn it into HOME FOR THANKSGIVING. The latter part of the film deals with the nervous anticipation of the rumored Oscar nominations.
If you have seen any of Christopher Guest's other films, you pretty much know who stars in this. They are all the usual suspects: Catherine O'Hara plays the aging actress who portrays the dying mother in the fictitious film. She is as wonderful as always and some of her funniest moments come after filming is complete and she gets excessive botox injections to give her a younger look. Harry Shearer plays veteran voice over artist and sometimes stage actor Victor Allen Miller, who wonders if his role in the film is finally his big break (the voice over artist aspect of his character is interesting since Shearer is one of the great voice over artists of his generation due to his work on THE SIMPSONS). The always-marvelous Parker Posey plays in the film within the film the estranged lesbian daughter (I had never before noticed what a striking resemblance she and Kristen Bell bear to one another, hair color aside). Eugene Levy was not only the co-author of the script but plays Victor Allen Miller's agent. Then there are simply a vast number of familiar faces such as Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Ed Begley Jr., the aforementioned John Michael Higgins, Bob Balaban, Larry Miller, Michael Hitchcock, Don Lake, and probably a half dozen other performers I'm missing. Christopher Guest interesting both directed the film and plays the director of the film with the film. And what would any Christopher Guest project be without occasions for a host of opportunities for scene stealing by Fred Willard, who here plays an entertainment show co-host (along with Jane Lynch) and sports a most bizarre hair cut. There are also some welcome guest stars who are not familiar faces in the Guest universe. In fact, two of them provide a double tie-in to THE OFFICE, though to two different versions. In a fake movie review show, a clip from a truly awful looking cop show features John Krasinki, Jim in the NBC version of THE OFFICE, as a cop who is accused of doing a poor job with his paperwork. But in a much larger role, Ricky Gervais, creator and star of the BBC original version, is outstanding as an oily studio exec. He fits in perfectly with the rest of the performers. There is also a very small and more or less wasted appearance by the always-lovely Sandra Oh.
I will be amazed if any fans of Guest's films will be completely disappoint with this film, though I also expect that most will rate this a bit below the other films. Hopefully everyone involved will get together and do this all again.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Sequel..., February 27, 2007
It can be easy to review a film (or any media) based on what you've expected from an artist's previous work. To do so can cause one to miss out on what makes a work of art unique. To pan "For Your Consideration" beacuse it's not like Guest's other work is to miss the point of why he (or anyone) makes films.
"For Your Consideration" does move away from the pure comedy we're used to in Guest's previous stories (although he hints at some pathos in "A Mighty WInd"). There's plenty to laugh at here, but I'm in no way disappointed that he made me stop and take a hard look at myself and at the culture I'm a part of in this film. He doesn't owe me a bucket of chuckles in every minute of every film he makes. I was quite surprised at where this film takes the viewer emotionally. However, it only works if said viewer is willing to go there...
Having stated that, what I enjoy and revel in in his films are the deep characters portrayed in them. They make us cringe because we know people like these in our own lives. These rich characters are here in plenty in this film, and my wife and I found ourselves grinning as we recognized faces of actors we thought we knew portraying NEW people that we both loved and wanted to mock but couldn't because they were too real, and yes, a bit sad. A bit of American Idol auditions without the glitz, packaging and over-the-top commentary from the judges.
I dunno. Decide for yourself. Let the movie, not your expectation, speak for itself.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the Academy's consideration, December 23, 2006
Christopher Guest has vowed not to make any more mockumentaries. Well, that's technically true: "For Your Consideration" has no talking-to-the-camera moments.
But while Guest has abandoned the mockumentary format -- as shown in movies like "Waiting for Guffman" and "A Mighty Wind" -- he hasn't lost his knack for hysterical comedy and intensely quirky characters. It's less intimate than his prior movies, but still skewers the entire entertainment industry, piece by piece.
As the movie opens, several actors are shooting "Home For Purim," a Southern Jewish tearjerker entered on a dying matriarch and her fragmented family. Then a stagehand tells Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara) that there are Web rumors about her receiving an Oscar. Suddenly buzz is building, and everyone is excited about the possibility of their tiny movie getting notice (and though that, their careers).
The Oscar buzz builds higher as the cast does publicity for "Home For Purim," and two more rumored nominations pop up. Two actors break up over potential Oscar stress, another goes on MTV-style shows, and the movie gets its theme changed to make it more "inclusive." The entire cast is on tenterhooks... but on nomination night, who is going to be the star?
Metafictional movies, and movies about makig movies, usually stink to high heaven. But Guest is the exception that proves the rule, as he mercilessly mocks E!-style journalism, critics, MTV, narcissistic producers, and even the Academy itself ("Give us all the awards -- we're FRENCH!").
Admittedly, this is not Guest at his best -- since the characters don't talk to the camera, they feel more distant. However, Guest has a knack for pathos mingled with biting satire. And best of all, these talented actors toss off improvised dialogue as if they were born to ("We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater here. Because you'll just get a wet and critically injured baby!").
Most of the humor is because of the weird characters -- Eugene, Levy as a slimy agent, Jennifer Coolidge as a blonde bimbo producer, and Fred Willard as an obnoxious E!-style reporter with a silly faux-hawk (Ryan Seacrest, this is you in twenty years!). And keep an eye out for Ricky "The Office" Gervais as an exec determined to water down the movie.
And O'Hara is sublime here. Her portrayal of a resigned, aging actress who gets high on hope is both hilarious and tragic, and she's the one character that you cannot laugh at by the end. That face-lift freaks me out, though.
"For Your Consideration" will never win an Oscar -- the Academy doesn't have a sense of humor about itself. But while not Guest at the best, this is still hilariously funny.
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