Best in Show

Best in Show (2000) Directed by Christopher Guest. Written by Guest and Eugene Levy. Starring Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Levy, Catherine O'Hara, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Guest and Fred Willard. Running Time: 90 minutes Rated PG-13

Dog people, and the dogs that own them, are often amusing in real life. But in the hands of master mock documentarist Christopher Guest, the amusement is marvelously magnified. (Guest practically invented the "mockumentary" with his 1984 rock band send-up, "This is Spinal Tap.")

In the days leading up to the Mayfair Kennel Club Dog Show, several sets of contestants make their way to Philadelphia to realize a dream of being "Best in Show." There's a pair of New York yuppies (Posey and Hitchcock) who are even higher strung than their willful weimaraner. A gay couple (Higgins and McKean) shows up to show off their shih tzu. A Florida husband and wife (Levy and O'Hara) make the trip with their terrier, discovering along the way that every man they meet is one of her former lovers. And finally, springing fully-grown from a country music song, lonely guy Harlan Pepper (Guest) arrives from North Carolina in a pickup truck with his droop-faced bloodhound. Once at the show, the odd assortment of owners conduct their canines toward a "best in show" showdown, where brilliantly inept color commentary is provided by Buck Laughlin (Willard).

Even though fairly well known actors play the primary roles, Guest achieves a documentary feel, mainly because much of the dialogue seems improvised. As writer-director, he deserves credit, either for writing sharp dialogue, or for directing in a way that inspires creativity in his actors.

Some of the best lines come from Posey and Hitchcock, the yuppie couple who met when their eyes locked as they sipped coffee at separate but close-by Starbucks, and whose pooch becomes paranoid whenever they get intimate in its presence. The other cast members ably deliver lines that define their quirky characters. Especially good is O'Hara as a woman with a past who is nonetheless devoted to spouse Levy, who literally has two left feet. Even the background extras, probably real-life dog handlers, are fascinating to watch, and seem to inhabit their own documentaries, waiting for their own close-ups.

The last third of the film brings the entire cast together for the "Best in Show" competition. This is where Willard, who seems to have wandered in from a slow day at the XFL, delivers his wildly comic commentary, which amazes and befuddles his more serious partner. (For a while, there was actually some Oscar buzz for Willard's performance here.) Though the film pokes fun at the dog show circuit, it also reveals a fondness for the people involved. It may not inspire you to become a dog show person, but it just may have you looking in the classifieds to see when the next real-life show is coming to your town.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 4

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Anything by Christopher Guest is good for a laugh and when it comes right down to it, you can really only compare Guest films with Guest films because no one even comes close to his ability. I would place this one up near the top, but again you can't really go wrong watching any of his movies.

Before the lights went out and the movie Best in Show began, the representative from Warner Bros. asked the audience two questions: "Any Spinal Tap fans?" and "Any dog fans?" The audience responded affirmatively in both instances, and such began the movie. If you answer yes to both of these questions, this is a must-see movie. If you answered no, you should still see this satirical romp following the actions of the Mayflower Dog Show in Philadelphia. The director, writer and star of Best in Show, Christopher Guest, is no newcomer to fake documentaries. As the lead guitarist in the aforementioned This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and the director, writer and star of Waiting for Guffman (1997), he is perhaps the master of the field, exploring a common theme, as reflected in the Guffman tag line: "There's a good reason some talent remains undiscovered." Guest explores this theme further in Best in Show, looking at ordinary people not mockingly but almost tenderly. You understand the characters' fears and insecurities, and you can only see too much of people you know or yourself in them. More importantly, you like these characters. When Eugene Levy's character Gerry Fleck reacts to his wife Cookie's (Catherine O'Hara) past wild sex life, you know that this is a man who loves his wife and whom his wife loves, despite his huge dorkiness and her having slept with almost every man they meet. "Pookie and I work as a team," he says, and they do, singing in harmony about their beloved terrier. The other characters are as banal and human as they can be; the braces-wearing yuppie couple, played with aplomb by Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock, take their dog to a therapist because the dog is depressed and angry about having seen the couple in the Congress of the Cow Kama Sutra position. They wax poetic about having been "raised amongst catalogues," extolling the virtues of J. Crew and L.L. Bean, and describe their similarities as loving "soup, outdoors, snowpeas, talking and not talking." These two are perhaps the most caricaturistic and one-dimensional of the characters in the film, but you feel sad for them for their transference of parental instinct onto their woeful dog. Best in Show has its share of comedic highs, most notably, the interplay between Buck Laughlin (Fred Willard), the hopelessly clueless commentator, and Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock), the British dog expert. As Buck barrages Trevor with inane and hilarious questions, Trevor brings up the most specific detail about the different breeds and the particular judges. Buck reminds me of my Uncle Bob, the man who doesn't know anything about anything but talks about it anyway, and it's perhaps the funniest part of the movie. This movie is kind to its characters while making fun of them, and the result is hilarity. While I'm curious about the new Tim Meadows' vehicle The Ladies Man, this is the most original and, arguably, the funniest comedy out right now.

It's not often that I laugh out loud at a movie, but this one made me several times. I fell in love with Parker Posey in this movie. I don't really know why since she's completely mean and pretty much unlikeable, but she's just so good. The "busy-bee" exchange with the guy in the pet shop makes me crack-up every time. And what can you say about Fred Willard and Eugene Levy...

It's a mockumentary about a dog show and a bunch of wacky dog owners. Don't expect to be moved in some epiphanatical (I might have just made up a word) way after watching this movie, but if you just let yourself get caught up in the absurdity, you'll probably have a few good laughs.

Right before turning in, the girlfriend said that if I was still up working into the wee hours I should take a break and turn on the telly. Best in Show would be on and although she hadn't seen it, she'd heard it got great reviews.

I kept working and forgot the time. The telly was on but I ignored it. All of a sudden I began hearing this very weird dialog. 'We like the same things - soup, snow peas, talking - and not talking.' I thought to myself 'what is this - some kind of weird porn movie?' And I continued ignoring it for a while longer until I heard the voices of Levy and Begley Jr. It was then I remembered what the girlfriend had said.

I looked the movie up at the IMDb quickly and was surprised to see who was behind it: Christopher Guest aka Nigel Tufnel, the man with the extra loud guitar amplifier. I knew then I was lucky to still be awake to witness this one.

I made two more checks at the IMDb before getting back to the movie: the number of awards and nominations and the box office. Not surprisingly this was a low budget venture, and not surprisingly either it's garnered tonnes of awards and nominations. The studio made a profit off this one, but it's pocket change in comparison to the big blockbusters. Still, it must be a kind of Woody Allen and Orion kind of thing: movies like this make the studio look good.

On to the movie: it's a riot, a bloody riot. It might not be your cuppa, but then OK - turn it off or watch something else. But there is so much in this one - it plays a bit like an Altman. Lots of hand-held too. And when you finally get to the show itself on comes Fred Willard and takes it away. He uses Jim Piddock as a foil - actually he uses almost everything as a foil. And if you think his portrayal is too much over the top, reflect on the fact it's supposedly a copy of an actual commentator at shows of this kind.

This type of movie is either extraordinarily difficult or admirably easy to make, and I suspect it's a bit of both. Some of the skits are just too much, and everywhere you turn the acting is inspired. One scene with I believe Posey in a pet shop is precious - and not only her work but the shop assistant's. Amazing stuff.

Mostly my sympathies went to Begley Jr who was the receptionist at the hotel. Meeting all these weird types and trying to remain accommodating and representative - it must be difficult if not impossible. There are some very weird characters in this one.

And you may be asking yourselves 'watch a mockumentary about a dog show and its participants?' And that's the whole point - it's hilarious; it's a riot.

I give it an 11.