Best In Show
Way back when a dollar could get you ten comic books, fifty baseball cards or eight gallons of gas, every neighborhood had at least one theater, maybe two. More often then not they were little nuggets of deco revival in the midst of Eisenhower era urban chaos, and completely unappreciated in their own time. Now, if they exist at all, they've been transformed into Moose lodges and Mystic Knights of the Sea Bingo Halls. 'Course, back then we didn't know they were the last bastions of neighborhood unity, and wouldn't have known art deco if it fell on us. Tommy Jackson and I would trek up Twelfth Street to the Ritz for 25 cent matinees of "Gunfight at the OK Corral", "Rodan" or "The Enemy Below", then dodge traffic to go sit on the church steps across the street and discuss the real meaning of Rodan's attitude problem, and whether Superman could beat him in a fair fight.
Most of those theaters are gone now, and the few that remain become more precious with each passing day. Imagine my delight upon walking into the newly-renovated Rio in downtown Overland Park - neon, palm trees, restored frieze work and an intimate auditorium with the unmistakable aroma of moovie popcorn - if I hadn't just plunked down thirty bucks for Chinese food up the street and paid six bucks a pop for the moovie, I could have been fooled into thinking that Ike was still taking Presidential mulligans at Camp David and that Winky Dink really couldn't have gotten back across that river unless I helped him by drawing that bridge. (Kids, ask your folks who Winky Dink was.)
Make an effort to visit the Rio - it's beautifully restored and plays first-run, fairly mainstream moovies, like "Best in Show", with Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban and Fred Willard. Written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, directed by Christopher Guest. MPAA rating PG-13 for language and sexual references, runtime 90 minutes.
If, at first glance, you were to think that I had just accidentally given you the cast of "Waiting For Guffman" instead of that for "Best in Show", you would be mostly correct. Christopher Guest has reassembled his crew from "Guffman" for another solid gold piece of improv cinema. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Guest and company take on the the private little world of dog shows and the dogs and handlers that inhabit it. "Best in Show" is a delightful break from the average, run of the mill, sophomoric comedic tripe that gets so much media attention these days - in short, if you belong to an Adam Sandler Fan Club, stay home, you not going to get it. If, on the other hand, you can appreciate the subtleties of well planned if unscripted but scrupulously edited film work, you'll have a blast laughing along with "Best in Show".
I'm not giving away anything on "Best in Show" - it's simply too much fun to watch and play along as the story unfolds. Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy have found a simple formula for creating their moovies - chart out the basics, select their ensemble cast and describe their characters' basic personalities, set up the shots - often with multiple cameras - let the actors improvise within the framework provided, then edit like crazy for a year or so. The result is a sometimes brilliant, sometimes not-so-brilliant, but always entertaining escape masquerading as a documentary. Yes, occasionally, they do try a little too hard, but the editing is so well executed that the disappointments don't resonate throughout the moovie - they simply fade away into the next set-up and are soon forgotten.
Skip the 'plex - get on down to the Rio and see "Best in Show" - if you live in a culturally backwards part of the planet - Chicago, New Yawk, maybe London - there's probably an analog of the Rio near you - search it out and support it.
"Best in Show"? Let's give it four kibble-munching dog-cows. Moof!
Most of those theaters are gone now, and the few that remain become more precious with each passing day. Imagine my delight upon walking into the newly-renovated Rio in downtown Overland Park - neon, palm trees, restored frieze work and an intimate auditorium with the unmistakable aroma of moovie popcorn - if I hadn't just plunked down thirty bucks for Chinese food up the street and paid six bucks a pop for the moovie, I could have been fooled into thinking that Ike was still taking Presidential mulligans at Camp David and that Winky Dink really couldn't have gotten back across that river unless I helped him by drawing that bridge. (Kids, ask your folks who Winky Dink was.)
Make an effort to visit the Rio - it's beautifully restored and plays first-run, fairly mainstream moovies, like "Best in Show", with Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban and Fred Willard. Written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, directed by Christopher Guest. MPAA rating PG-13 for language and sexual references, runtime 90 minutes.
If, at first glance, you were to think that I had just accidentally given you the cast of "Waiting For Guffman" instead of that for "Best in Show", you would be mostly correct. Christopher Guest has reassembled his crew from "Guffman" for another solid gold piece of improv cinema. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Guest and company take on the the private little world of dog shows and the dogs and handlers that inhabit it. "Best in Show" is a delightful break from the average, run of the mill, sophomoric comedic tripe that gets so much media attention these days - in short, if you belong to an Adam Sandler Fan Club, stay home, you not going to get it. If, on the other hand, you can appreciate the subtleties of well planned if unscripted but scrupulously edited film work, you'll have a blast laughing along with "Best in Show".
I'm not giving away anything on "Best in Show" - it's simply too much fun to watch and play along as the story unfolds. Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy have found a simple formula for creating their moovies - chart out the basics, select their ensemble cast and describe their characters' basic personalities, set up the shots - often with multiple cameras - let the actors improvise within the framework provided, then edit like crazy for a year or so. The result is a sometimes brilliant, sometimes not-so-brilliant, but always entertaining escape masquerading as a documentary. Yes, occasionally, they do try a little too hard, but the editing is so well executed that the disappointments don't resonate throughout the moovie - they simply fade away into the next set-up and are soon forgotten.
Skip the 'plex - get on down to the Rio and see "Best in Show" - if you live in a culturally backwards part of the planet - Chicago, New Yawk, maybe London - there's probably an analog of the Rio near you - search it out and support it.
"Best in Show"? Let's give it four kibble-munching dog-cows. Moof!
