I don't think I could conceive of any better remedy for my irate displeasure after seeing TM:R than to go see A Mighty Wind, the latest creation from Christopher Guest and his usual suspects. A Mighty Wind follows the pattern traceable back to This Is Spinal Tap, and, while it isn't exactly fresh, it is masterfully executed here. Perhaps its because this story has more of an effect on its characters, and seems more like a fleshed-out movie than a drawn-out comedy sketch, but I found Wind moving me, both in terms of laughter and real emotion, more than previous Guest movies.

A Mighty Wind traces the story of a folk music producer (Jonathan Steinbloom, played by Bob Balaban) who, upon the death of his father — who had been a big player in the folk scene at its peak — decides to hold a tribute concert and bring together some of the label's biggest acts. Due to scheduling issues, everything must be brought together in two weeks' time.

What follows is a study of three different folk groups, and the personalities in them, who almost universally seem to think that they are very normal, when in reality they are anything but. The groups themselves are a good combination of the various tropes of the genre: The New Main Street Singers are a reincarnation of the original nine-member Main Street Singers who are the most poppy and commercial of the bunch — and looked on with scorn by The Folksmen, a trio who consider themselves to be much more true to their folk roots. Rounding out the three is the duet of Mitch and Mickey, a couple whose high point was a sickly sweet love ballad very reminiscent of "I Got You, Babe". All the groups get roughly equal time, which does mean that The New Main Street Singers, due to their sheer number, get less individual screen time; this isn't too much of a loss, though, because they are easily the least interesting group.

There are several strong performances throughout, including Eugene Cohen as the Mitch in Mitch and Mickey, who does a wonderful job chewing the scenery as a washed-up, mentally unstable wasteoid who isn't quite in touch with reality, and Harry Shearer, whose Mark Shubb is the bass voice in The Folksmen and probably my favorite character from the lot, for reasons I can't quite place.

The movie does end on a coda which doesn't ring very true, and includes one plot twist with The Folksmen that seems to come out of the blue without any real logic behind it. However, that one sour note does little to taint what came before — a gentle but satirical look at folk music, and the characters in it who seem to think that they are completely normal, when, in reality, they're anything but, with some damn good music thrown in to boot. I can't wait to pick up the soundtrack.

[This review also appears on my blog]