A Mighty Wind: Critic Reviews

A movie that re-creates its object of satire with such pitch-perfect flair that it all but erases the line between derision and love.

Almost makes you believe that Mitch and Mickey were real, which is an impressive stunt. More than that, it makes you almost wish that they were, which is something of a miracle.

Though it's softer than its predecessors, this reunion pic lingers in the mind almost as much.

Not only is the material amusing, it's charmingly engaging.

Guest and his troupe have made a perfectly enjoyable movie, but held to the high comedic standards of their previous two mockumentary adventures ... not to mention This Is Spinal Tap ... A Mighty Wind is a bummer.

The relative surplus of affectionate respect allows for a sly deepening of character all around, and an unexpected upkick from satire to poignance.

You don't leave A Mighty Wind laughing so much as humming. Its dialogue may be improvised, but its music is well rehearsed.

The chemistry among the players, developed over multiple films, is sharper than ever.

Guest's previous films offer essential windows into the absurd and the lovable and, in its own way, so does his latest.

It's just about as terrific as Guest's previous two wingdings, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.

The edge is missing from Guest's usual style.

The laughs come early and often, then dry up like the characters' post-'60s careers.

Blows in funny-ha-ha but blows out funny-strange.

With Guest again demonstrating affection for the subjects he teases -- the humor is never mean-spirited, and some of the music is kind of fun -- his fans are likely to be toe-tappingly pleased.

While Guest never forgets to laugh, he never forgets to love either, embracing the very subject he is simultaneously throttling.

A rollicking, tongue-in-cheek sendup.

There is no shortage of performers with comic skills in A Mighty Wind. What's lacking instead is a visible premise for the satire and ridicule.

While the mockumentary formula is showing signs of strain, the gifted repertory company again creates an amusing gallery of incisively observed characters, riffing off each other with enjoyment levels that frequently prove contagious.

In this hilarious, pitch-perfect comedy, Guest and his longtime collaborator, co-writer and star Eugene Levy, have the quaint, golly-gee enthusiasm of folkies and their music in the cross-hairs.

The most mature, heartfelt and keenly observed film of Team Guffman.

Genuine appreciation of the movie comes in recognizing the careful evocation of the sights, sounds and emotions of the early '60s -- sans the politics, which are curiously MIA -- and not from hooting at the hicks.

The character actors are all superb, deftly weaving back and forth over the line between sympathetic human characters and eccentric caricatures, so laughter and sympathy are indistinguishable.

A fine-grained picture that goes for the sideways laughs rather than the straight-ahead ones.