For Your Consideration
I originally went to watch the latest from Christopher Guest and his troupe a few days before I saw it for real- I guess I was too tired, ’caused I missed some great one-liners. The movie felt kind of flat compared to the comic highs of “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” and “A Mighty Wind.” Well, it’s story still feels a little too been-there, done-that for Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy (“Get Shorty,” “Bowfinger,” and “Ed Wood” stick it to Hollywood sharper, and funnier). But the dynamically-comic duo find fresh targets to skewer courtesy of the world wide web, which is where the buzz starts up about Oscar talk surrounding the indie family drama “Home for Purim,” a film that would otherwise be ignored by the public and Hollywood were it not for some anonymous hype generated by a ‘net head looking to start something.
The film-within-a-film scenes of “Purim” make it fun to watch how over-the-top the film is as dated melodrama- leave it to Guest and his gifted cast to know how to stick it to bad movies with dillusions of grandeur. An inspired collective cast brings out the ego that rears its’ ugly head when the O-word is uttered. Best of all is Catherine O’Hara, whose work as a supporting player in non-Guest films like “The Paper” and “Home Alone”- as well as Guest’s mock-docs (a formula “Consideration” puts on hold, unfolding more like a traditional narrative)- hits a career peak as Marilyn Hack, an actress past her prime who plays the dying matriarch of “Purim,” and whose obsession with the Oscar buzz turns her from dedicated actress to spotlight whore (the faux-plastic surgery is creepy and wickedly comic). O’Hara’s delivered heartfelt and hilarious work in a wide variety of roles before, but her turn as Hack cuts to the satirical heart of this starry-eyed stereotype with a sharp-knifed wit coupled with a softy’s heart for the tragedy of her character. Don’t let the Oscar buzz overwhelm you- even if her character doesn’t deserve consideration, she certainly does.
O’Hara sets the tone, and her costars find their spot in the performance pyramid, which is strong both at the top and bottom. Harry Shearer is on the next level as a washed-up veteran (best known for a hot dog commercial) who plays Marilyn’s husband in the fake film; of all the disappointed Oscar hopefuls, he’s the most sympathetic in a scene of him waiting for that magical phone call from his smooth-talking- albeit dorky looking- agent (co-writer Levy hamming it up beautifully), with master hambone Fred Willard- as an entertainment show cohost- propping the film up wittily with his wildly hilarious riffs. Guest as “Purim’s” perfectionist director- who can’t accept his cast’s inability to act just Southern- or Jewish- enough is a deft reminded of his classic turn as the theatre director in “Guffman.” And “The Office’s” Ricky Gervais- a newcomer to the Guest family- is deadpan perfect as a studio suit not ashamed about asking the writers (Michael McKean and Bob Balaban capture screenwriter anxiety effortlessly) to “tone down the Jewishness,” even if it means changing the title. Parker Posey also scores as Kellie Webb, an actress playing Marilyn’s lesbian daughter in the film who drops her co-star boyfriend (Christopher Moynihan) when he doesn’t share her excitement about the O-buzz. The biggest scene-stealer of the whole film, though (and this movie’s littered with them, as Guest’s films always are), is John Michael Higgins, whose publicist is the engine that drives the hype surrounding the film, and his deviously funny as he spins the news around “Purim” while throwing out sharp one-liners like, “Inside every actor lives a tiger, a pig, an ass, and a nightingale, and you never know which one’s gonna show up.” If you understand what that means, “For Your Consideration”- which harkens back to Woody Allen-style old-fashioned comedy quite comfortably- is a movie you want to see. If not, you’ll wanna bone up on your Guest-ography (with a cherry called “This is Spinal Tap” on top) before you come in on the fun. Don’t worry- you’ll have fun though.
