The Christopher Guest music "mockumentary" strikes again within the folk music genre. He, along with Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and company have written and played their own songs that are quite close to the cheesy originals they were based upon. Funny that many will downgrade such a creation as it was supposed to be the music that was the base of the humor. Where performance can be funny (see "This Is Spinal Tap") the folk performances are a bit silly to start. If the music isn't legitimate, then the character based humor doesn't work and the characters are truly gems here. I may be the only one who found Eugene Levys' "Mitch" to be absolutely brilliant where others said he wasn't their cup of tea.... must not of hung around pretentious wanna be poet musicians! The PBS show is also brilliant with its silly drama that also is true to back stage dilemmas, a missing musician, other band set lists and caring about seeing another band perform. I have watched this movie a dozen times, but admit it may not be as delightful for everyone. The writing was so spot on that "when you put it that way, it's almost poetry. Almost."

First of all, I am of an age to have lived through much of the folk music era that this movie brilliantly spoofs. That said, it is a spot-on portrayal of the music, the performers, and the attitudes of the time. There was great attention to details, even including the look of mock album covers for the various acts and the vehicle that transports one of the acts from Vermont to NYC. It is filled with humor, as is the case with almost all of Christopher Guest and company's films. The cast is terrific from top to bottom, including many of the smaller parts such as Ed Begley, Jr.'s, role as a TV producer. Something that truly impressed me is the fact that all of the songs, and many of the musical arrangements, were written by the cast members. While most of them don't actually play, they do sing - and pretty well. I'm not sure that younger viewers appreciated just how good this movie captured an era. They may have related more to the earlier collaboration of the some of the principal actors in "This is Spinal Tap" because it was about a heavy metal band. All in all, this is maybe Christopher Guest's best movie.

Movie that makes you feel good. If you liked 'Best in show' you will like this one. Although is not as good as 'Best..' Great cast, interesting and hilarious characters. Written and played well. The folk music is the same platform in this film like dog shows in 'Best in show'. Nevertheless folk music in this movie wasn't really ridiculed. It even left me with a bit of liking it. I'm not going to be a fan of it though. The movie leaves you with the 'feel good' mood and you realize that smile doesn't go off your face till the very end. If you have DVD, deleted scenes are worth watching. My favorite is the one with Amber Cole, the PR lady.

Comedy in film is one thing which I tend to worry about more than many other factors. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I cannot precisely point out what I want from a comedy film that I feel uneasy watching them, afraid they will disappoint these hidden standards. With that in mind, and with an urge to laugh, I turned to the well trusted Christopher Guest.A musical mockumentary, A Mighty Wind covers the organisation of a tribute concert to recently deceased folk music magnate Irving Steinbloom, to be performed by three of the acts he helped launch in the course of his career: The New Main Street Singers; The Folksmen; Mitch & Mickey.Both A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, prior to my recent viewings thereof, lingered vaguely in the back of my mind from my first viewings several years ago. I can recall being, back then, thoroughly amused by the films but simultaneously gripped by a sense that so much was passing me by. It is only now that I realise quite how right I was, the layered approach to Guest's comedy ever more evident with the increased wisdom of years. Co-writing with Eugene Levy, and reputedly allowing for a great deal of improvisation, Guest creates a hybrid of comedic styles that keeps you laughing from start to stop. Perhaps it is in the nature of these humorous situations that the film finds its effect. There are no grand set pieces, no tigers in bathrooms. There are only people, behaving in an entirely human manner. Steinbloom's son, determined to give his father the perfect tribute, fusses over every detail of the concert, worrying that perhaps the chosen flowers may prove dangerous to exposed eyeballs. It is the realism of these characters, these situations, and these words that is so achingly funny. We all know people like this, people who would agree with the younger Steinbloom in his assessment of topiary hazards. Guest and co require no fantastical and otherworldly sequences of events to illicit our laughs; they need only reality and the true-to-life characteristics of the people around us. Real life is funnier than anything fantasy can dream up, and the mockumentary format makes A Mighty Wind feel as though this is reality at its most unadulterated. The laughs come fast, hard, and with an emphatic truth that makes them more amusing than just about anything else. This, I think, is the appeal of Guest's directorial work (or at least what I've seen of it), and it is what makes him one of the best comedic filmmakers today. Needless to say his regular cast works astoundingly well together, his reasons for re-using the same actors repeatedly easy to understand. What is truly exceptional about A Mighty Wind, ranking it above the frankly funnier Best in Show and more scathingly reflective For Your Consideration, is its humanity. I dare say nobody who watches this film will ever be able to forget the interminable sweetness of Mitch & Mickey, easily among the greatest screen couples of all time. An utterly compelling and at times quite saddening romantic subplot underscores the film with such a poetic drama that one cannot help but be moved as well as amused. And their song... Oh their song... Words cannot describe.With the wonderful humour of Guest's comedies, A Mighty Wind stands head and shoulders above almost all competition. Its humour lies in the reality of its situations, and the normality of its characters. Equipped with a disarmingly charming romance that will test the most hardened of hearts, it also boasts a fantastic soundtrack to compliment this fantastic comedy.