‘Waiting for Guffman’ pokes fun at small-town America

Christopher Guest and his zany group of actors know how to make hilariously odd films. From This is Spinal Tap to Best in Show to A Mighty Wind, the troupe of comedy players has found the shared funny bone of the audience. In 1996’s Waiting for Guffman, one of their funniest and zaniest, Guest and company aim their talents at small-town America and community theater.

Guest plays Corky St. Clair, an unsuccessful theater professional who runs a community theater in a small Missouri town. In this small universe, he’s treated like royalty, a man with an endless amount of unquestioned talent. His current production is an original musical that tells the tale of the town’s founding, and it features a motley variety of community members.

There’s Ron and Sheila (Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara), a married couple overly enthusiastic for starring roles. There’s Libby (Parker Posey), a true actress (sort of), and Allan (Eugene Levy), a local doctor. Bob Balaban, Larry Miller and Don Lake all turn up in supporting roles as well.

What gives the production a certain level of pressing enthusiasm is that somehow Corky has been able to attract the interest of a Broadway producer (Mr. Guffman of the title). If the production goes well, they all might be headed for the Great White Way.

Of course, everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There’s no way that a production of this horrendous quality would ever see the light of day in New York City, but that’s the fun of seeing Corky and his actors buy into the disbelief. They are engaged in the outcome and excited for a potential East Coast transfer. The fact that they buy into the supposed reality is funny enough. Their devotedness makes the craziness of Waiting for Guffman that much more fun.

When a singer tries hitting a musical note and fails miserably, the troupe of actors is so delusional that they actually believe the production is superb. When Corky can’t get what he wants for the musical, he throws dramatic tantrums, quits the job and then is begged back into the spotlight, almost like he’s a big name on the marquee who needs to be retained.

Of the actors, Levy, Willard and O’Hara particularly stand out. They are wholesome and hilarious, never overselling their characterizations and actually finding some semblance of real humanity. Guest, Posey and others are still funny, but they seem solely to play for the laughs.

The film, like so many others directed by Guest, is shot in a mockumentary style. This means that the characters are filmed in their real lives, trying to put on the production, and they break from that reality and address the audience directly though monologues. It’s often in these one-on-one sessions where the best one-liners emerge. The dialogue, which seems improvisational, rolls off their tongues in the spirit of believability. Look at their eyes when they say these lines; they are in full belief that everything is real, that Broadway is right around the corner.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Waiting for Guffman

• 1997

• Directed by Christopher Guest

• Written by Guest and Eugene Levy

• Starring Guest, Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban and Parker Posey

• Running time: 85 minutes

• Rated R for brief strong language

• Rating: