Director and writer Christopher Guest is well known for pointed mockumentaries that target a variety of topics. After more than two decades of working in the movies, Guest ("A Mighty Wind") finally takes a stab at the absurd business that made him famous with, "For Your Consideration."
The film focuses on three talentless actors who are all starring in the same awful period film, "Home for Purim." Through various twists in plot, each actor discovers that they might be getting nominated for an Oscar. Once this information has come to light, the biting satire really begins to take form.
The lead actress is the sympathetic Miriam Hack (Catherine O'Hara, "Penelope"), a woman approaching her golden years whose last role was playing a prostitute twenty years ago. O'Hara walks a fine line, but artfully manages to portray a woman at the end of her metaphorical rope.
She also proves herself to be an amazingly good sport. At the beginning of the film, she looks ancient. Her ratty hair hangs around her face as she pathetically mimes along to classic Hollywood gestures. By the end of the film, she transforms herself into an equally old-looking woman, albeit one with a facelift and a skintight dress.
Victor Allen Miller (Harry Shearer, "A Mighty Wind") is a man whose most prominent work has been playing a hot dog in commercials. He's a nice enough guy, struggling against the impossible competition of show business. Arrogant and unwilling to accept that the odds are against him, he refuses to read for commercials because he believes himself to be too good an actor.
Parker Posey ("Superman Returns") offers up her limitless acting chops as Callie Webb, who is just as hooked on the possibility of fame. She's an up-and-coming star, who is responsible for the one-woman show, "No Penis Intended."
One of the accomplishments of the movie is that all of the above characters gain the audience's sympathy by the end. Each of their immediate reactions to the nomination news is heartfelt and makes these people easily relatable.
The movie is an ensemble piece, and some of the funniest material goes to the supporting cast. Possibly the best lines are given to Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins, "The Break Up").
"Don't make assumptions about the talent. Don't assume the talent can hear well," Taft says.
The slew of agents, the director, the writers and even the media pundits who keep the suspense going through their ludicrous interludes are joys to behold. Not only that, but with all the cameos, there's a constant game of spot-the-celebrity going on.
Whitney Taylor Brown (Jennifer Coolidge, "Click") is the ditsy producer, who insists on everything being real despite her superficiality. Martin Gibb (Ricky Gervais, "Dog Eat Dog") is a producer who wants to tone down the "Jewishness" of the film, changing the name from "Home For Purim" to "Home For Thanksgiving." Jane Lynch ("Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby") and Fred Willard ("Church Ball") shine as the TV presenters who barely manage to hide their intense hatred of one another.
The movie's satirical tone is delightful and surprising given the source, shamelessly mocking the movie industry, giving its characters mere seconds in which to gain sympathy from the audience before returning to the order of the day.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
