Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Hag Purim
I guess that's a Jewish inside joke, that's hebrew for 'Holiday of Purim' and english for 'Purim Hag.' Either way, I saw "For Your Consideration" on Saturday and you may consider me disappointed. Christopher Guest's previous work made my stomach hurt from laughing and tears roll down my cheek - "Best In Show," "Waiting for Guffman," all undying classics. Not this time - good jokes abound, but they're more hit and miss, the targets seem easier, and the jokes, more obvious. I'd give it 2 1/2 stars, maybe 2 3/4 if you're Jewish and can capture the nuances of sentimentalizing Purim, a holiday as serious for Jews as Arbor Day. I miss the 'mockumentary' format, too, which distributed screen time more evenly among this very talented ensemble - Eugene Levy, for example, was sorely underused. One major positive is Catherine O'Hara (pictured center), who's given sufficient space to build a magnificent character: Marilyn Hack, for 30 years a dedicated but unknown actress, converted by one rumor of an Oscar nomination into a cheesy, plastic, media whore. It would be odd if this crew's worst movie generated its first and only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. And it wouldn't be the first time this award went to someone who played a lead actress losing an Academy Award - that feat was pulled off by Maggie Smith in Neil Simon's "California Suite," way back in 1978.this entry's permalink
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