I don't think I could conceive of any better remedy for my
displeasure after seeing TM:R than to go see
creation from Christopher Guest and his usual suspects. A Mighty Wind
follows the pattern traceable back to
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
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.
Article comments
1 - Chris
I loved this movie. Fred Williard, of course, steals every scene he in, especially the press conference near the end, but for me the most I laughed, at least out loud, during A Mighty Wind was the scene where the blonde woman from The New Main Street Singers describes her "career" before joining the group.