If you go to see Best in Show for its in your face humor, forget it. This "mockumentary" about several couples and others participating in a dog show is funny. It's not often laugh out loud funny, though. It's more something that will make you smile. You also have to pay attention, or you'll miss a lot.
Directed by Christopher Guest, and co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, Best in Show follows four couples and one man in their efforts to win Best in Show at the biggest dog show in the country in Philadelphia. Every couple is extremely different - Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins as a gay couple with a Shih Tzu; Levy and Catherine O'Hara as a nerd with a former nymphomaniac and their terrier; Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as a very nervous couple with their very nervous dog; Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw and Jane Lynch as a couple and their dog handler with their two-time defending champion poodle; and Guest, as a southern fisherman with his bloodhound. It also features Fred Willard as the TV host of the dog show and Ed Begley, Jr. as the manager of the hotel hosting the event.
There are some very funny moments, such as when Guest's character traces ventriloquism (which he is learning) back to ancient Egypt, or when Levy shows his two left feet. But other parts of the film are annoying. Posey and Hitchcock are so nervous about the show and their dog's behavior that they are rude to everyone around them. This isn't funny. And Guest starts talking about nuts (he's from Pinenut, somewhere in the south) and their traits, such as pistachio nuts and peanuts, and other nuts. He takes a point and beats it into the ground. Also, Levy and O'Hara's inability to pay for their hotel room is simply not funny. There are also too many instances of men recognizing O'Hara from long ago sexual encounters and lewdly sharing the details with her while Levy is standing next to her.
On balance, there are more funny moments. Among the actors, Higgins is clearly the "Best in Show." His portrayal of a horny gay man is spirited and often hysterical. Levy can be funny without saying anything. Willard's commentary is often hysterical. He continually asks his color man, played by Jim Piddock, very funny questions about dog shows, such as "do you think the dogs are nervous?" Piddock, who plays an Englishman who is an expert in dog shows, is also very good as Willard's straight man.
Most of the main characters were in another movie directed by Guest and co-written by Guest and Levy in 1996 called "Waiting for Guffman." And Guest, McKean, Willard and Begley were all in the granddaddy of mockumentaries - "This is Spinal Tap," in 1984. If you like either of these two films, you'll like Best in Show. If you don't, avoid this film, the humor is too subtle.
Si-i-i-t. Sta-a-a-a-a-y. Laugh! Best In Show is the year s funniest movie. (Lou Lumenick, New York Post). Waiting For Guffman s Christopher Guest dire...More at Buy.com
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