Waiting for Guffman (1996)

From the mind of Christopher Guest comes this documentary-style comedy depicting the production of a play in small town Missouri. Guest provides us with characters who are at times sincere and lovable while also laughably delusional and/or way in over their heads. In celebration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of a small Missouri town named Blaine, theatre maven Corky St. Clair decides to put on a commemorative musical with the usual town actors plus some. The dubious promise that a Broadway producer, Guffman, is going to come critique the show adds fuel to the motivational fire. The film could easily have strayed into the territory of cruel mockery of both small town characters and community theater, but thankfully it didn't. Instead, we're presented with a cast of delightfully incompetent characters acting their hearts out and with a community that perfectly captures the pride of small town America. The cutaways to the audience during the final performance were a perfect illustration of the bond between the community members, made only more hilarious by the play's in-jokes and shameless self-promotion. And despite the cringe-worthy show, the genuine effort put in by the actors and the unbridled excitement of their fellow townies adds up to a pretty touching experience. Like Guest's Spinal Tap, every performance was (mostly) consistent and convincing, and the characters were human with maybe a little exaggeration thrown in for dramatic effect. Highly quotable quotes. I have a hunch that this is a film that gets better every time you watch it.

8/10