Christopher Guest is Nuts in a Can

He is.

Christopher Guest is a funny, funny man. The movies he is known best for are his "mockumentries." He had a hand in writing and directing some of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Most of these films have the same actors in common: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey and Fred Willard among others.

Shearer, Guest and McKean kick some ass as the band Spinal Tap.

First came This is Spinal Tap, a mock documentry about a second-rate hair band in the late seventies/early eighties. The film follows them on their American tour which is plagued by cancelled shows, bickering and in-fighting as well as a controversy about the album cover which winds up being released as an all black album with nothing at all printed on it. One of my favorite quotes from the movie in which band member Nigel contemplates the album cover: "It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black." This is a hilarious movie which invites the viewer to laugh with Spinal Tap and laugh at them as well.

Next up was Waiting for Guffman, a send up of a small town theatre production. Guest plays Corky St Clair, a highly gay man from New York who has the job of organizing and coordinating a production with a cast of misfits and comically untalented actors. There's a scene where Corky is alone in his apartment practicing a dance that was so funny I almost peed.

Did I mention that Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy are funny?

Best in Show is my favorite of the bunch. This film centers on the annual Mayfair dog show and an assortment of fucked up characters who are bringing their dogs for the competition. There's the gay couple, the other gay couple, the rambling hillbilly, the high-strung yuppie couple, the awkward man with two left feet and wife with the whorish past.

20 years later Shearer, Guest and McKean appear as The Folksmen.

The most recent movie is A Mighty Wind, the mock documentry about a folk reunion concert. This one's got a little more heart and less funny than the others but is a great movie just the same. Most, if not all, of these films are improvised by the cast. The songs written for the Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind are very well written and performed, and these actors are quite simply damn talented people. Many of the laughs are of the subtle, tongue-in-cheek variety. This sort of comedy isn't for everyone, but these movies are fine, nuts entertainment for reasonable prices. I just learned that Guest and Co have another one in the works for 2006 called For your Consideration about actors filming a movie that learn that their performances are generating award-season buzz. Should be a goddamn hoot.