A Mighty Wind

It’s a downpour outside, and I just watched A Mighty Wind. I am happy.

Bob Balaban. I love that guy.

Christopher Guest’s hairdo.

And the album covers! hahaha The album called “Wishin'” – the 3 guys in blue suits around a wishing well, laughing at the camera …

“There had been abuse in my family … but it was mostly musical in nature.”

“Martin Berg. Folk Historian.” haha That was the guy who everyone thought was Guffman in Waiting for Guffman. And here he is in a tie-dye shirt with a long white beard.

“I learned to play the ukelele in my last film: Not so Tiny Tim.”

It amazes me that those same three guys were also Spinal Tap. Dammit, they’re geniuses.

“HEY, WHA HAPPENED?”

Catherine O’Hara gives a deep and serious performance here. It’s pained, and real, and … just so unexpected. We expect her to be funny. And here she is thoughtful, with sad eyes. It’s very odd, very striking. In the middle of this funny mockumentary is a dramatic and convincing performance.

“If they didn’t have model trains, they wouldn’t have gotten the idea to make the big trains.”

Jennifer Coolidge is so funny I don’t know what to do with myself. She’s like Madeline Kahn.

In my opinion, Eugene Levy – usually so perfect – gives a less-than-perfect performance. It really stands out. It pains me to say, and I don’t even want to admit it, but you know what? It’s true. I love him, but his performance in this doesn’t work.

When Bob Balban gets slapped. hahahaha “This banjo is flat.” “Well, it’s painted to look three-dimensional …” “Is this the real furniture?” “A – it’s not furniture, it’s a set.”

I love that Parker Posey has almost no lines in this film. She knew it going in, she didn’t care. She just loves being involved with these movies, and would rather have fun in her career than trying to position herself in leading roles. Love her.

“This candle represents the uncertainty of life, in all its delicacy. It also represents a penis.”

The worship of color. I mean … come ON. “That saturated energy …” “Reeed orange yellowwwww green bluuuueee”

I love Town Hall. I saw Rufus Wainwright there.

This entry was posted in Movies and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to A Mighty Wind

  1. Alex says:

    When everyone’s doing that “MMMmmmm” Zen thing, and Jennifer Coolige has her mouth wide open and is totally disregarding what’s going by making some obtuse, freaky “AAAhhhhh” sound….I[m telling you. Mitchell and I saw ir opening weekend, and we laughed so hard at that part people thought there was something wrong with us.

    I haven’t seen this since it opened. I’m running, and I’m not kidding, RUNNING to the next door video store and renting this for tonight. Maybe I’ll do this AND Guffman.

    Oh God. I can’t take myself right now.

  2. red says:

    I know. Alex … her FACE in that moment. Like: she has NO idea what is going on, but she doesn’t even know she has no idea what’s going on. hahahahahaha

  3. Dean Esmay says:

    It’s a brilliant movie, although I have to wonder if someone who never really knew much about the old “folk music” scene of the ’60s would get it…

  4. red says:

    Dean, I grew up with this stuff (cause my parents had all these old folk records around the house) – and we LOVED them. We grew out of them but we loved them.

    Mitch and Mickey are obviously based on Ian and Sylvia – even the album covers in the movie look like the album covers I remember from my childhood. Sylvia had the long thick unadorned black hair …

    It’s such earnest music. The pre-political folk music. Like Pete Seeger and the O’Malley personal favorite: Bob Gibson. We still know all his songs by heart.

  5. Tommy says:

    Of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries, I think this one is my least favorite. That’s not to say it’s bad, only that I felt like it was half a beat behind where Best in Show and Guffman are just absolutly spot on.

    I think you might have hit something with Eugene Levy’s character. His is such a big part in the movie…where most, if not all the actors ARE the characters, it feels like Levy’s playing a part.

    Still, I’ve watched the movie three or four times since the first time I watched it. So there’s something in there that’s grown on me.

    And while I didn’t like Mitch or Levy’s performance playing Mitch, I did like the album covers after he split up with Mickey. That segment’s one of those things I laugh at every time I see it.

  6. red says:

    Tommy, right – isn’t one of the albums called “Calling it Quits” and the album cover is him digging his own grave? hahahaha

    This movie has a quieter feeling to it, and except for Jennifer Coolidge and that scene between Bob Balaban and the Town Hall guy (where he smacks him on the head) there isn’t one big bust-a-gut laugh.

    I like it just the same, it’s just different. It’s not, actually, a funny movie, really. It seems like it’s more of a tribute, to that kind of music. You know? It’s very loving towards folk music.

    Catherine O’Hara is a genius. I totally felt that she WAS that person. Playing her autoharp, wearing picks on every finger. Genius.

  7. beth says:

    you forgot the “ave maria” guy.

    “thank god for model trains. i mean, without model trains, how would they ever have gotten the idea for the big trains?”

    i thought that woman–whom i will always think of as “stifler’s mom”–was the unsung heroine of that movie.

    and i thought there were PLENTY of LOL moments in the movie, but it might just be my sense of humor.

  8. Mitchell says:

    i laughed from start to finish..Jane Lynch as the former porn star now Main Street Singer is so good at “playing” sincere..love her..i do agree that Eugene Levy’s performance is problematic…i think he’s very good but its such a sedated character to play a lead.

  9. red says:

    I absolutely love Jane Lynch. Compare that to her rigid lesbian competitive dog handler … the chick is incredible. And yeah, her big open smile, which is just such BULL SHIT.

    And I love the husband, who pretty much seems in awe of her. When she’s describing the color deity, he looks from her to the camera, in this kind of nervous way … it’s fucking hysterical.

Comments are closed.