For Your Consideration: Review By timbruderek

I am a self-proclaimed Christopher Guest addict. If you ask me to compile a list of my favorite films, surely "A Mighty Wind," "Best in Show," "Waiting for Guffman" and "This is Spinal Tap" (though directed by Rob Reiner, was starred in and written by Guest) would rank among the chosen few. Guest is a master of comedy, and his mockumentary style is yet to be exceeded or even matched. With his brilliant ensemble cast, including the likes of Eugene Levy (with whom Guest writes his films), Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Katherine O'Hara and Parker Posey, to name but a few, his films are pure genius, and always provide a deadpan, biting commentary on the subject matter at hand. Naturally, I was more than excited to finally see Guest and company's latest comic foray, "For Your Consideration." Unfortunately, it failed to live up to my incredibly high expectations.

Guest decided to shy away from his trademark moc*mentary-style, but still set out to confront another well-known topic: moviemaking itself. "For Your Consideration" was hyped as "taking down the movie industry," but alas, it did not entirely complete its mission.

Catherine O'Hara is a gifted actress who can easily tackle the goofy, weird and wacky, and she outdoes herself here. The film is centered on O'Hara's character Marilyn Hack, who along with fellow veteran actor Victor Allan Miller (Shearer), and newcomers Callie Webb (Posey), Brian Chubb (Christopher Moynihan) and Mary Pat Hooligan (a fantastic Rachel Harris) create the small cast of the grandiose period piece "Home for Purim." Hack is subtly obsessed with her age and her on-screen appearance, eventually going to desperate measures to stay young, attractive and popular.

"Home for Purim" is directed by Jay Berman (Guest), who wholeheartedly believes in his little indie film and utilizes some fairly unorthodox methods of direction. Guest is so dead-on that his portrayal of the eccentric director may be too realistic and not as funny to some. The usual cast of characters is here, including McKean as an unflinching writer, Levy as Victor Allen Miller's opportunist agent and John Michael Higgins as smooth-talking PR whiz Corey Taft.

Jennifer Coolidge, who is often self-deprecating and frequently hilarious, and who is known from her bit parts in Guest's previous films, as well as popping up in movies and television shows all over the place, is undisputedly one of the shining stars of the film. She plays the voluptuous yet vapid producer Whitney Taylor Brown, a character that does not stray far from her usual "dumb but caring blonde bombshell," of which she has become well-known.

Jane Lynch and Fred Willard (in my opinion, one of the funniest men on the face of the planet) are exceptional as the hosts of a trashy television news magazine program. The rest of Guest's usual bit players are all here, joined by some newcomers and welcomed guests (Ricky Gervais' cameo as the studio head is far too short). Though it is always great to see the familiar faces, Guest may have stretched his cast too thin, underutilizing some (the brilliant McKean) and not fully developing the characters of others.

There are moments of sheer hilarity throughout, especially Callie Webb's one-woman show titled "No Penis Intended" and anything that comes out of the mouths of Lynch, Coolidge and/or Willard. But unfortunately, these moments are few and far between. Another reason this movie does not live up to its legendary predecessors (tough shoes to fill to begin with), is that Guest and co-writer Levy chose a subject that was much too broad (the entire movie industry), which left the film a bit unfocused and disorganized. The film takes a few twists and turns and changes focus often, leaving some storylines unfinished and others unwelcome.

Though overall "For Your Consideration" was entertaining, it will take some time for it to fall in place with Guest's previous comedic gems, if it can at all. This is destined to become a cult film, and when I inevitably purchase the DVD and watch it a good half dozen times, I will surely come to appreciate it as a great comedy. For now, I will not say I was disappointed, but it has unfortunately failed to live up to the hype of one dedicated Christopher Guest fan.