Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Mighty Wind

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-01-2003, 12:40 AM:

This is the latest film from Christopher ("This is Spinal Tap") Guest. Unfortunately, it's not quite the masterpiece that was Spinal Tap (or even the more recent "Waiting for Guffman"), but it does hold up pretty well on its own, if not in comparison to Guest's previous films. Wow, that last sentence was muddled, but hopefully I've made the intended point.

Anyway, it's funny and worth seeing for anyone who is a fan of Guest's previous films. The cast (most of whom are recognizable from Guffman and "Best in Show") is great, and the script is fun, if somewhat forgettable.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-09-2003, 06:43 PM:

05/09/2003, Cinemark 17 Springfield OR, #12, 2:00PM, DTS. Attendance about 20. Presentation generally very good, no serious flaws.

Although attendance was sparse, about half the audience was laughing constantly while the other half just sat there like they didn't get it at all. Thus demonstrating that this is one of those offbeat films you'll probably either really like or really hate. I thought it was plenty funny. But I would also be careful who I recommend it to. [Wink]

Eugene Levy steals the show.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-12-2003, 06:41 PM:

It was a quiet time, a simple time. John Dooley hung down his head, Michael rowed the boat ashore and I hammered that hammer all over this land. There was a time, my friends, when the lilting voice of Glenn Yarbrough rang over the top of the Limeliters, and The New Christy Minstrels were all over TV. This is the time we see in A MIGHTY WIND.

Well, not exactly that time...more a nostalgic trip back to that time. We see the reunion show of The Folksmen, the New Main Street Singers and Mitch & Micki come back to Town Hall for 1-night only.

This movie is a lot of fun, but it is also very touching. It's hard to make fun of these characters because they are all so sincere. Eugene Levy's "Mitch" is a confused and tragic creature. Micki is a sweet and loving creature who was hurt very badly by Mitch. There isn't anything funny here. They are more touching than humorous.

The New Main Street Singers are funny. They are just a little too happy with a few too many guitars and mandolins. Their fake sincerity shines out like a lighthouse.

The Folksman is just Spinal Tap 15 years earlier. I almost wished they would get lost in the bowels of Town Hall, just for old times sake.

You could easily pass any of the songs off as real folk songs, even though they were written for the film. "Eat At Joe's" and "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" are very nice tunes.

Guest gets his usual high-quality performances here. Everyone is very good, but I especially enjoyed Bob Balaban as the extra-organized presenter, Jennifer Coolidge as the vaguely European PR person, Fred Willard for everything he does, and Jane Lynch for just being so gosh-darned happy.

Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy's performances were so touching that a few tears welled up on their final song.

Not the best of the C. Guest films (I think that will go to BEST OF SHOW), but worth seeing if you would like to have a relaxing good time.

Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 05-15-2003, 02:43 PM:

I thought it was funny.
And Parker Posey.....mmmmmmm

I cant remember the character or actor's name, but the guy who said "Hey, wha happen?" all the time was hillarious.
I remember him having four lines like that that he used.
"Hey, wha happen?"
"I can't do my work!"
"I don't think so!"
What was the other one?

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

I thought the kiss at the end was really good.
And the bass singer from The Folksmen turning drag was hillarious!

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-15-2003, 02:47 PM:

That was Fred Willard. I don't remember the 4th expression though. Loved all his inappropriate jokes. The spikey highlighted hair on a geezer his age is pretty funny too.

Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 05-17-2003, 07:27 PM:

I was told by a cowoerker that the 4th saying was "THAT'S RIGHT!"

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 05-18-2003, 12:48 PM:

I agree with wha6t has been said here. Funny and touching. Not quite the biting satire of WAITING FOR GUFFMAN or BEST IN SHOW. But still a good respite from the junk out there.

Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 05-20-2003, 09:19 AM:

I also concur. If you are a fan of Waiting for Guffman or Best in SHow, then you should definitely see this. There are some amazing moments...

SPOILER - sort of

I still chuckle when I revisit Bob Balaban getting slapped on the head.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 05-26-2003, 08:45 PM:

AMC Hamilton, 5/24, 7:50 PM show. Hall #7, attendance ~50.

Best in Show was a pleasant surprise. A Mighty Wind is not. The format is more or less the same; the execution comes off kind of half-baked.

Any TV production of the Town Hall concert would have been on tape instead of live. Viewers see a live show done that way and figure "WTF?"

Mitch comes off as the Michael Jackson of folk music. That Mitch didn't get the tabloid treatment is due to the folk scene being largely out of the public eye and because Christopher Guest doesn't do anything tabloid.

Since Castle Rock has an output deal with Warner Bros., Guest gets a broader audience for his material and WB puts them into the national top 10. (Waiting for Guffman came out via Sony Pictures Classics when Castle Rock had an output deal with Sony.)

Presentation: Blotches all over R4 and R5 -- and the AMC Hamilton got A Mighty Wind on the national break (5/9)! Sound was excellent SDDS.