Bêtes de scène

You would almost have to have seen the dog show world first hand to understand all the delicious inside jokes, but even if the extent of your dog show experience is an occasional glimpse of the Westminster Dog Show telecast, you'll howl with laughter.

Conformation dog showing is a world of illusion in which everyone tries to make perfect dogs out of something less. Best in Show strips the illusion away in a brutal satire that undoubtedly had every dog person on the planet cringing in horror and delight. "Isn't that just like so-and-so?" and "I'm nothing like that!"

Christopher Guest may have topped his supreme masterpiece "Spinal Tap" with this signature mockumentary in which he skewers all of dogdom. You will recognize Fred Willard's vapid and obnoxious television host as none other than Joe what's his name from Westminster, and the tension between him and Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock) is a thinly veiled roman a clef of David and Joe at the Big Show.

There are a few gaffs, like the fact at all the dogs at the Show are supposed to be champions before entry, but that doesn't detract from the fun. John Michael Higgins, who steals the show as the uninhibited handler, and Michael McKean are hilarious as the gay couple going out of their way to be outre. Co-writer Eugene Levy (American Pie) is perfect as the husband finding out that his wife Catherine O'Hara might be Miss Congeniality of all time. I also loved Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as the overwrought yuppie couple who project all their angst on their poor dog. Larry Miller turns in a great cameo as one of the countless men in O'Hara's past.

A lot of people didn't get this gem. To them I can only say Bad Dog, Bad Dog! For the rest of us, it's Sit, Stay, and Enjoy!

This is the best of the films (so far) that Christopher Guest has created using his very talented ensemble cast. Previously, they'd made the excellent WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and following BEST IN SHOW, they made the very enjoyable A MIGHTY WIND. As for their latest, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, the less said the better.

The film appears to be a documentary about dog shows and several contestants in particular. You follow these few chosen dogs from pre-show preparations all the way to the big night where one of them is chosen best in show at the fictitious "Mayflower Kennel Club". However, none of these people are real dog show enthusiasts but talent improvisational actors that parody many of the common types of people you meet in the dog show world. Amazingly, even though the characters are rather outlandish, there is a lot of truth to the personalities they are parodying--as decades ago I had some experience with dog shows and this is a VERY cutthroat group of people! My favorites of the dog owners were the incredibly high-pressure and tense yuppie couple who just exuded anger and volatility. I also loved the openly gay couple, as they were terribly funny and clever. However, the best performance probably wasn't from any of the couples but from Fred Willard who played the world's stupidest and least talented announcer in human history. His comments were uniformly inane and often betrayed him as an incredibly stupid person--how he got to be the announcer for such a prestigious show is anyone's guess. The other contestants featured were also quite funny--the high-priced professional poodle handler and its rich owner, the country boy and his hound as well as Winkie's "parents" who could barely scrape together enough to make it to the show.

Despite the improvised style of film making, the pieces all fit together wonderfully and told a very funny and compelling story--one that is NOT for dog owners only. Exceptional acting made this one of the best comedies of the last decade. Clever and consistently funny.

By the way, try to find this on DVD as the extras were actually worth seeing. While a bit painful to watch, I loved seeing Harlan Pepper and his beach ball collection in particular!

I just love this movie / mock-u-mentary! Best in Show is a "mockumentary" made by the same team who brought you the also brilliant "This Is Spinal Tap". It follows several contestants of the Mayflower Dog Show and their dogs. You have a sexually frustrated yuppie couple who met at "Starbucks from across the street", a couple of Gay queens with their Shihtzus, a working class couple with a wife who has had "hundreds of boyfriends", a redneck ventriloquist with his blood hound, and a "Anna Nicole Smith" trophy wife wannabe and her lesbian dog handler. This is just such a wacky bunch - it is a great ride. Some may find it a bit too slow - but I just loved all the subtle humour in it - you can definitely get repeat viewings out of this one! It is a total scream!!

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.