For Your Consideration (Christopher Guest, 2006)

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Antoine Doinel · #1 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:58 pm

Trailer

Cinesimilitude · #2 Post by **Cinesimilitude** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:37 pm

That looks great. Gervais, Guest, McKean, and Shearer. the Mocu-Docu Gods all on one project.

jorencain · #3 Post by **jorencain** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:34 pm

I just came back from it, and I'm not quite sure what I thought. A few random reactions....

Oddly, this felt like the shortest movie I've ever seen, although it's nearly 90 minutes, and I left with the feeling that it was pretty slight. When it ended, I heard, "Is that it?" from somehwer in the theater. I did laugh a lot, but we are introduced to a large cast of characters over the first 15 minutes or so, and then many of them barely return. Christopher Guest probably has 8 minutes of screen time, if that. I was left with the impression that it didn't turn out as funny as expected, and that much was left on the cutting room floor.

There are, however, many great moments, and it's quite a funny film. There is much more of a script than Guest's previous films, which was actually refreshing. Once again, Fred Willard stole the show for me.

Anyway, it's not groundbreaking, but it's definitely fun and worth checking out. I know this isn't very coherent, but I'm still forming my opinion of it.

bufordsharkley · #4 Post by **bufordsharkley** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:40 am

...I caught this last week...

It's not nearly as good as Guest's previous movies, but still delivers plenty of solid laughs. (And saying it doesn't live up to his past few is no huge knock on this one-- A Mighty Wind is among my very favorite films of recent years.)

If there's a problem with this one, it's that it really doesn't have a heart-- all the characters are irredeemably foolish or nasty.

...But yes, it's worth catching, if only for the supremely talented cast-- only John Michael Higgins (one of the highlights of Guest's last few) falls a bit flat.

Cinesimilitude · #5 Post by **Cinesimilitude** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:05 am

no heart? seems fitting for a satire of hollywood...

bufordsharkley · #6 Post by **bufordsharkley** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:24 am

That's actually another thing--

It's really not much of a satire. The Hollywood in the movie doesn't have much of a connection with reality, and the film-within-the-film bears no resemblance to anything made in the last 70 years.

...It's all really an excuse for character-driven humor, with occasional spots of absurdity. Which is all well and fair, except that its satirical input is minimal.

Michael · #7 Post by **Michael** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:49 am

I had the same reaction as jorencain. It felt kinda lean and dry but I was happy to see those faces again (Christopher Guest, Catharine O'Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, etc).

How could Guest top Waiting for Guffman - one of my favorite, favorite movies?

David Ehrenstein · #8 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:06 pm

Many reviews have complained that Home For Purim doesn't resemble any current indie movie. Others longed for Guest and company to really take on Hollywood at awards time. Next to the kinds of things SCTV used to do (particularly with the great Catherine O'Hara's "Lola Heaterton") this is very mild stuff. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Mysterypez · #9 Post by **Mysterypez** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:32 pm

This was...... terrible. Home for Purim? Jeez, awful. This was ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS bad.

How can someone who made THE BIG PICTURE, which seems incredible insightful about Hollywood, make something this clueless and out of date as this? Botox jokes? A kvetching Jewish director? A dimwit agent (Gervais/Merchant should sue)?

John Michael Higgins was the only actor/role that worked for me. The apple in the tree and pear/pair on the ground joke is the only time I laughed out loudâ€¦ other than the pre-programmed trailer highlights.

Ste · #10 Post by **Ste** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:23 pm

I, too, thought this very poor. The opening half-hour was terrible: no real character development at all and precious few laughs. With A Mighty Wind, I was just aching for Eugene Levy to kiss Catherine O'Hara by the end. Here, there really isn't anybody to care about; the characters are nothing more than a bunch of clichés. One might argue that is the point, but it doesn't wash with me. I expect more from Mr. Guest.

Fred Willard was ace, as usual, but by the time he arrives on-screen it's a case of too little too late.

Michael wrote:How could Guest top Waiting for Guffman - one of my favorite, favorite movies?

By telling the same story again? Small-time show has a sliver of greatness dangled before its fingertips, only to find its dreams dashed ....

Michael · #11 Post by **Michael** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:51 pm

Well, I think Guffman has something that is lacking in the rest of Guest's films. This one gets under my skin. Guffman is impossibly funny - the penis surgery rambling at the Chinese restaurant, Corky's drama queen, etc - and also sad at the same time - Parker Posey's back at the Dairy Queen but different location, trying to invent a new flavor or something for blizzards. The show that Corky directs is terribly hilarious.. it's so bad and cheesy but you get so charmed by the sparkling enthusiasm from everyone including the audience.

Best in Show is great but I love Guffman's characters more.

Ste · #12 Post by **Ste** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:03 pm

Re. Guffman: I couldn't agree more. One of the things that makes that film so great is the show they put on is pitched just perfectly. They really look like they're trying their best with zero resources. Anyone who has experienced local theatre knows that stuff is frighteningly real. The sets, everything. If they had over-played it, it would have come off as ridiculous and unbelievable. Under-play it and, well, you have For your Consideration.

Galen Young · #13 Post by **Galen Young** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:07 pm

Antoine Doinel · #14 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:13 am

I caught up with this tonight on DVD and was really, really disappointed. I think Ste hit the nail on the head - the film is so overplayed that the jokes fall flat. Guest's version of Hollywood that has his characters taking part it is "satirized" to the point that it's just not believable. What made his previous films work so well, was not only their subtlety, but that that the situations were mired in a plausible world.

But, the concept itself was a bit of a dud to start with. Skewering celebrity and Hollywood is like shooting fish a barrel. For example, the regular showbiz shows like ET and Extra are already so absurd and over-the-top that pushing that further just sort of seems pointless. Furthermore, the film-within-the-film was just awful. And not in a so-awful-it's-funny way, but just really bad. It almost seemed like an afterthought. The scenes of the filming of Home For Purim were just boring.

The only bright light in the entire movie for me was Ricky Gervais. His scenes were genuinely uncomfortable, funny and hit the right tone that the rest of the film seemed to miss entirely.

I know that Guest and Levy work with online an outline of their films, but here it barely seemed like a sketch. The whole movie played out like the last half-hour of Saturday Night Live stretched out to ninety minutes. An occassional chuckle amid a lot of first draft material that really could've been developed further.

Belmondo · #15 Post by **Belmondo** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:59 am

I generally love Christopher Guest and his crew, but I agree with all the negative comments on this one. One of the worst moviegoing experiences is sitting through a comedy that isn't funny. However, if you are currently in posession of the DVD, make sure you watch the thirty minutes of bonus material, which is funnier than anything in the movie. These are described as bonus scenes, not deleted scenes, and I am not exactly sure if they were ever meant to be in the movie or were Guest's generosity to some of his minor players, but give them a look.

Antoine Doinel · #16 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:11 pm

Yeah, the bonus material had some funny bits, but I thought that overall it was just as weak as the film. I honestly felt there just too many people in the cast. A lot of my favorite regular Guest players got too little screen time.