Dill Scallion

Charming mockumentary on a country singer's rise and fall. Hilariously written, and the song titles alone are worth the price of admission ("I Found Love at the Family Reunion" is just one of many fine examples). The documentary feel is tainted by some very Hollywood injections (i.e.: a "quirky" romance) that sometimes destroys the illusion, and despite its unique angle it just can't escape the mighty shadow of "This Is Spinal Tap." Nonetheless, it's very, very funny; people who hate country will roar at the jokes made at the genre's expense, and those who love it will laugh at the movie's knowing look at the industry. Surprisingly, "Dill Scallion" submits compelling evidence that Henry Winkler's career may actually be worth saving.

"Dill Scallion", with Billy Burke in the title role, tells of the rise and fall of a fictional country/western singer. Full of tongue-in-cheek humor and endless good natured spoofing of country music, this fun flick is shot as a mockumentary with the usual jiggly shoulder cams, boom mics in the shot, grainy film, etc. "DS" gets off to a slow start and it's no frills approach may turn off many viewers early on. However, those who hang in there will find some seriously clever writing and dead pan lampooning during this 1.5 hour joy ride.

I laughed quite a bit at this one. It was the classic "busdriver becomes big music star, breaks his foot every day, has the two biggest singles in the United States and is washed up before his first album is released" story that we are used to seeing, but with some twists. Funny movie, I don't know what those people that gave it bad marks were on.

I happened upon "Dill Scallion" late one night on one of the pay channels and have never laughed so hard. To describe it in one phrase I would call it a Country Spinal Tap. It has the same mocku-mentary style. The acting was great, but most of the songs were terrible (or was that part of the joke?) I place this film up there with "Spinal Tap" and "Fear of a Black Hat"

I rented this flick because I am nuts about Lauren Graham, who worked steadily for a decade, in TV and low-budget movies, before her breakthrough on "Gilmore Girls". It turns out, this is a darn funny movie, with a very engaging cast.

Billy Burke is perfect as an innocent Texas boy who dreams of Nashville while singing his songs to the kids on his school bus. He gets a break after a local talent show, and the movie is a documentary-style chronicle of his rise and fall. Along the way, he crosses paths with Kathy Griffin as his randy girlfriend, David Koechner as the leader of his backup band, Jason Priestley as a country megastar, Henry Winkler as a promoter, and several bonafide country music stars as themselves. Refreshingly, the characters are not portrayed as clueless hicks, but ordinary folks just trying to find some happiness, and maybe a hit record or two.

Lauren Graham is gorgeous as Dill's love interest/"muse", and completely different from her Lorelai Gilmore character. She nails a Southern accent (but not Deep South), and is unrelentingly sweet to everyone, even when she is not happy with them.

This is a fun, low-key movie with affection for its characters and some good scenes sending up stardom and fame in our celebrity-crazed culture. I believe it is available for rental only through Hollywood Video. Give it a try, it is funnier than 75% of the big time comedies out there.

"Stop the Madness of Gingivitis"