It's crass, it's political. It can also be funny and self-absorbed. No, not the government arena, the one at your local dog show. Often ridiculed, this can be a place of decit, backstabbing, and some shenanigans that you'd never assoicate with our friendly, family pets.

Writer/director Christopher Guest along with Eugene Levy gives us the story of several dogs and their owners to the Mayflower Show, a not-so-subtle dig at the venerable Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York. The couples range from trophy wife Sheri Ann (Jennifer Coolidge) and the lesbian handler Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch) with a standard poodle; a hyper yuppie couple from Indiana and the stressed out weimerarer; the guy with two left feet and his wife that knows everyone -- Gerry and Cookie (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) and the terrier; and the gay couple, Stefan and Scott, with the Shih Tzu (of course). And then there's the fishing shop owner, Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest) with his bloodhound, Hubert. Each one is tracked from going to the dog show, pre show jitters, at the dog show itself and the aftermath six months later. The people themselves are characticures of themselves in this, but it's not that far off the mark from the real dog show world.

Some of them you loathe (for me it was the Swans from Indiana, played by Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock), and I really found myself rooting for that bloodhound to nab that coveted Best in Show. My poor SO was gazing blankly at the screen while I was in tears from laughing so hard. Nothing is spared here, from unusual camera shots of animal posteriors, catty comments from participants regarding the other competitors, a long-suffering commentator from England (Jim Piddock) paired up with a filthy mouthed, crude American.

For those of you out there who have ever been involved with dog shows, this is dead on with the entire culture and mind-set. Everything centers around those dogs, and your humor and nature rises and falls with how well your dog is showing. A good showing can make you grin for a year, and a bad weekend can drive you nuts. Christopher Guest caught that perfectly, because there really are dog owners like this out there -- happily they are a small minority -- and usually what you see behind the scenes at dog shows is crazier even than this film.

Told in a mock-documentary style, the script gets occansionally obscene, which I felt could have been despensed with, but it does draw laughs. Best of all are the dogs, who seem to glide serenely through the film, utterly aware of their own importance, but you get the idea they'd be just as happy crashed out on the family sofa with their favorite chew toy as to be strutting their stuff in the judging ring.

Parents might find some of this objectionable, so be wary of letting your kids watch it. Plenty of adult language and themes, hints of sex, one female-female kiss, swishy bits from the gay couple, and the occansional dog behaving like a dog.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older