Plot: What’s it about?
For those out there who are fans of Christopher Guest’s other projects, namely “Best in Show” and “Waiting for Guffman”, wait no more. The third installment in the “mockumentary” trilogy is here at last! It’s highly likely that everyone out there will have their personal favorite of the three (mine happens to be “Best in Show”), though each stands out in their own way. Whereas Guffman was an expose’ on the world of theater (small time, that is) and Show poked fun at the underworld of people’s love for their dogs; “A Mighty Wind” is more of a musical dedicated to the folk bands of the 50’s and 60’s. Granted, every angle is played up and it’s likely that to catch all the jokes, repeated viewings are a must. Still, there’s something about this type of movie that just makes one say “why did no one else think of this before?” Well, some of the same cast was in the 80’s masterpiece “This is Spinal Tap”, but aside from that, the genre is just scratched the surface. Guest obviously knows what the audience wants as most of the cast from the two previous films is back for more and they don’t disappoint.
Irving Steinbloom (Stuart Luce) has just passed away. A legend of the folk music industry, he was the one who pioneered the movement of the 50’s and 60’s. Being the great man that he was, his son (Bob Balaban) has decided to get three of the groups that were made popular by his father, and does a reunion show to be broadcast on public television. The most successful of these groups was “Mitch and Mickey”, who closely resemble Sonny and Cher. Aside from them, The Folksmen (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean) and The New Main Street Singers (Nine in all). The process of the movie is getting all of the members of their respective bands back in New York as they only have two weeks to get ready to perform the show at Town Hall. However, Mitch and Mickey haven’t spoken in years and The New Main Street Singers are now commercial and somewhat despised by the other members in the show. Still, this doesn’t stop them from all showing up and each offering their own two cents worth of advice as to how to do what to who and when.
Let’s face it, if you’re a fan of the other two movies by Christopher Guest, there’s nothing that will stop you from checking out “A Mighty Wind”. The cast is great, all in rare form (and again, mostly without a script). Though there’s no one unquestioned star of the group, Balaban and Levy are the two we see the most of. Balaban is perfect as the anal-retentive son of the deceased father who worries about everything from the length of the flowers to the questionable 3-D effects of the stage. The music is so corny that we have to ask ourselves if there was indeed a point in time when we as a country really listened and bought this stuff. Evidently the answer is yes (though personally, this was long before my day). I suppose the only complaint that I would have with this installment is the fact that the cast is a bit too big as our attention often gets shifted around from one person to another much too quickly. Levy’s performance is so great that I’d love to see more of him. The film is short too, clocking in at just 92 minutes. Still, I laughed out loud more than once and it’s something that any fan of this sort of movie will love. Highly recommended.
Video: How does it look?
As we might expect this is a mock documentary (mockumentary) and the way that the film is presented makes it feel like one. Shown in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, the film looks great, much better than expected. The colors are a bit washed out from time to time, but once you get used to the somewhat grainy look and feel of it, it makes it all the more enjoyable. The colors seemed right on target and though the film has a somewhat muted look and feel to it, it was (again) to be expected. Right on par with “Best in Show” and “Waiting for Guffman”, this transfer looks to be just their equal. Naturally for a new to DVD movie, we can expect the highest-quality and Warner once again delivers.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is where I was a bit surprised. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack actually sounds pretty good here. Most documentaries that we watch leave sound pretty much out of the picture (just what is spoken is what we hear), but this isn’t the case with “A Mighty Wind”. Naturally, the movie centering around music, we do hear plenty of great and catchy songs and during the ending show, the surrounds kick in and make for a pretty enjoyable experience. The main dialogue is clean and clear, though a bit low at times. I found that I had to turn my receiver up a couple of times to make out what was being said. Still, I was impressed overall and what better way to hear folk music than in 5.1 sound!
Supplements: What are the extras?
The disc is packed with supplements led off by a great commentary track by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy (who wrote the screenplay as well). Both have starring roles in the film and provide some insight into the making of it (casting, etc.) as well. The track is almost as interesting as the movie itself and to be missed. This is similar to tracks on “Waiting for Guffman” and “Best in Show” in terms of what to expect. Some thirty minutes of deleted scenes are included as well including two deleted musical numbers “The Good Book Song” and “The Catheter Song” and all are not to be missed. What’s most intriguing is the fact that the television special (in the movie) is shown in its entirety here. So you can watch the actual broadcast as if you were actually watching it on television there! Now how cool is that. This is shown in anamorphic widescreen and available with or without commentary by Guest and Levy. There are some original “music video” songs as well, by a few of the bands (credited as “vintage music videos”). Bios of the bands are available as well as are some cast and crew bios (the real ones, not the mock ones), the original theatrical trailer and some not too hard to find Easter Eggs. “A Mighty Wind” is packed with great supplements and caters to any fan who might like this kind of movie. I count myself as one of them.
