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.

A MIGHTY WIND is not a simple sequel to the earlier comedy spoof THIS IS SPINAL TAP. There was nothing in that film that was really moving (the death of the drummers in the band became an occupational hazard after awhile). Instead, A MIGHTY WIND is a bittersweet film about the passing of a briefly appreciated musical trend, but more important the tragedy of two of that trends celebrities in the failure of their marriage. For the marriage of Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara) becomes the centerpiece of our attention by the last third of the film.The up-beat small town Americana personified in the music of the three groups is not totally dead. One can hear people strumming 1960s kitch even today. But it was supposed to be a tonic to the rock and roll and protest songs of the 50s to the 70s. It just did not have the staying power of those songs. One of the ironies of the film is that Michael McKeon's group is spoofing "The Weavers", but that group (led by Pete Seeger) transcended this kind of music and ended up leading the vanguard of the anti-war protests of the 1960s. When McKeon is approached about a song concerning an incident in the Spanish Civil War that his two partners are not afraid to sing he looks rather put out - he just doesn't think it's their type of music.The key to this film's difference from SPINAL TAP is that the numbers are actually just this side of good. One can hear all of them without being turned off by them seeming so naive. This is particularly true of Mitch and Mickey's number regarding the kiss at the end of the rainbow. It actually is moving as sung by them, and (in it's first performance) they did a kiss. It becomes their signature song. But the love that led to their marriage (a love on Levy's part that got him badly beaten defending O'Hara when she was insulted) does not last. Levy's Mitch has a mental problem, and the two divorced. But O'Hara's Mickey always was concerned about him - even after she had a successful second marriage. When he briefly vanishes just before they go on (he went out for some air and to get her a flower) she becomes hysterical thinking he may have gotten hurt. They do the kiss again for the live audience, but it is obvious that they really wanted to. But once they do they revert because they don't want to give each other the wrong signal.That business gives a heart to the film totally missing from SPINAL TAP. This does not mean the comedy is not funny - it is on target. The interviews that reveal too much about the people being interviewed. The behavior of the dead impresario's older son who is concerned about whether flower arrangements at Town Hall may lead people to fatally injure themselves tripping over the dangling flowers, or that they will be confused by stage decorations mingling painted banjos that look like they are three dimensional next to real street lamps. The head of Town Hall showing the acoustics by singing "Ave Maria" badly. The belief of two of the singers in some reality involving color and levels of sound. The television network honcho (Ed Begley Jr.) who is Swedish, boasts of some obscure song he wrote that was big on Stockholm song charts years ago, and uses Yiddish words as a kind of proof of his being a producer. It is a wonderful movie, and superior (I feel) for that degree of sadness it reveal in the lives of two star-crossed lovers.

The weakest in Guest's series of mockumentaries, but still enjoyable. The casting is predictably clever, but it seems that the improvisation wasn't working that well this time around; there are several scenes that contain nothing even vaguely humorous about them. I like Guest's subtle style, but perhaps AMW's humour is too subtle for its own good. If you're going to go after country music, especially the more commercial crap, then you ought to go for the jugular. No "Police Academy"-type nonsense, of course, but a little more energy would have done the movie good.Surprisingly, the folk music version of Spinal Tap, the Folksmen, were among the least funny in the movie! More interesting was Higgins playing the colour-worshipper, and the annoyed theater manager.I was disappointed that Guest even tried to inject some soppy sentimentality into the Mickey/Mitch story; perhaps a sign of Guest's aging? Empty schmaltz should be left to shoddy TV sitcoms like "Friends", it has absolutely no place in intelligent parody/satire. Levy's character seemed wacky enough to create a plethora of silly situations and dialogue, but this potential was left largely unused.AMW is, however, the type of comedy that gets better on additional viewing. Guest's follow-up about Hollywood is better. Perhaps country music wasn't such a good idea...

This is THE worst movie I or anyone else I know has EVER seen. I almost slept through it. It was extremely boring and fake. I'd give a negative rating but that's impossible. This movie is the worst movie you will ever see. I think everyone else slept through the small part we saw. This movie was a total waste of time, and it made me never want to see a "mockumentary" again. You should get paid to see this horrible movie. It did get better for about two minutes, but then it got even worse. After wasting an hour which felt like ten million on this movie, I didn't want to see any more of it. I stress again, do not see this movie unless you want to watch a movie so bad you can sleep right through it....