A Mighty Wind (2003)

Director: Christopher Guest

Writers: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy

Composer:  song score mostly by Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean

Starring: Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban, Paul Dooley, Jim Ortlieb, Paul Benedict, Floyd Van Buskirk, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Christopher Moynihan, Jim Piddock, Don Lake, Deborah Theaker, Fred Willard, Ed Begley Jr., Larry Miller, Jennifer Coolidge

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Back together for the first time, again.

Plot: Mockumentary captures the reunion of 1960s folk trio the Folksmen as they prepare for a show at The Town Hall to memorialize a recently deceased concert promoter.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

I absolutely adore Guest & pals' earlier film, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996).  It's fucking brilliant.  That means that I'm on board with everything else they do.  I've seen them all a few times but I always go back to GUFFMAN.  A MIGHTY WIND is VERY funny.  Not only is it a great premise and story but the gags are all over the place and it's got a great original soundtrack.  These people are so talented it's scary.  The songs are fantastic.  Yeah, they sound like they came from the eras they're depicting but they're also very well-written songs.  "A Kiss at the End of teh Rainbow", as sung by Levy & O'Hara, is a beautifully touching song that plays an integral part in the heart of the film.  When we reach the climax, we're not sure how the song is going to go down and it makes for a very sweet and suspenseful moment.  My only real criticism of the picture is Levy's performance.  He takes the goofy too far.  I would have preferred that he toned it down a bit and not play it like a SCTV/SNL character.  Grounding that character more would have made this picture that much more special.  He does have his moments of funny but my eyes roll whenever he takes it too far.  The Waner Bros. DVD has a few extras with a commentary, 15 additional scenes with optional commentary, 4 "vintage" TV appearances by the fake groups The Folksmen and Mitch & Mickey (with optional commentary), the PBN TV broadcast of the concert (with optional commentary), the theatrical trailer (anamorphic widescreen) and a soundtrack spot.