For Your Consideration (2006)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Redundant and unnecessary.

I wanted to but couldn't!

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Jay Berman (Christopher Guest) is directing his movie "Home for Purim". Philip Koontz (Bob Balaban) and Lane Iverson (Michael McKean) are the writers. Whitney Taylor Brown (Jennifer Coolidge) is the producer with diaper money. Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara), Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), Callie Webb (Parker Posey), Debbie Gilchrist (Rachael Harris), and Brian Chubb (Christopher Moynihan) are some of the actors. None of them are big stars. Morley Orfkin (Eugene Levy) is a small time agent. A rumor spreads that one of the actors is getting Oscar buzz. Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins) is an incompetent publicist.The great thing about Christopher Guest mockumentaries is that he takes characters from little known worlds and make them stars. The problem with this one is that these Hollywood characters have been done by everybody. The familiar cast of players are unable to get big laughs. It is a valiant effort. This is good for Guest fans but a limited comedy for non fans.

In trying to get at the heart of why this film is merely good, not hilarious, I think that an over-reliance on improvisation is at fault. In a mockumentary, such rough moments can be 'disguised' as byproducts of the faux reality, whereas in a straight film like this they cannot. A good example is provided by John Michael Higgins as Corey Taft, the stolid agent for Marilyn Hack. While he's got a few good scenes, too many of his obnoxious to the core character simply is stuff seen done better before. And he suffers in contrast to Levy's character, Morley Orfkin, agent to Victor Allen Miller. The same goes for Ed Begley Jr.'s tired and routine gay makeup man character, Sandy Lane. Also, some of the same old tired in-jokes and stereotypes about Hollywood abound. If only two or three were used, rather than fifteen or twenty, the film would have been better off, and the balance would have aided the true pathos of the film. In that sense, this film was a bit lesser version of David Mamet's State And Main crossed with Robert Altman's The Player.Yet, despite all that, this film is, in truth, a good adult comedy, and given that they are so rare, its flaws are minor in comparison to its good points. Compare it to the latest black or teen exploitation comedy and you'll agree. For Your Consideration may not, itself, be worthy of consideration for an Academy Award, but it may stand out as a critical film in the continued evolution of one of American film's most original and funny filmic auteurs. La chaim!

Another amusing Christopher Guest mockumentary, this time set in Hollywood and targeting the hoopla and absurdity surrounding the Oscar's and promise of a nomination. It took me a little while to warm up to this one, but eventually I got into it and it had some pretty funny moments. It is really quite clever in places, and it's probably not that much of a stretch that a small movie and those involved could be swept up in the rumors of possible Academy Awards in such an extreme manner. The usual Guest regulars are all here, and so is his particular sense of humor that you either get, or you don't. It's a safe bet that you'll probably like For Your Consideration about as much as you liked other Guest movies like Best in Show. Manage your expectations accordingly.

"For Your Consideration", co-written and directed by Christopher Guest, is a funny piece of cinema, not in the same category of some of this creator's best work. Eugene Levy is the other screen writer, a frequent collaborator with Mr. Guest.The mere idea of having "Home for Purim" in the running with other, much better films, is preposterous at best. We are taken to the making of this picture and the behind scenes that go on in a lot of projects. The director, who loves to eat, has no clue about what he if actually filming. The inside intrigues behind cameras conspire to bring its making to the attention of the entertainment media that thrive in bringing the hype to the general public who love to read about it.The best thing in the film is Marilyn Hack, a character actress who has seen better days. At first, she can't understand the luck in being singled out for emoting and eating the scenery. She is equally matched by Callie Webb, a younger woman with roots in Off-Off-Broadway performance acts, which we get a glimpse of it at the end. The leading man is a man that has distinguished himself for the silly commercials he has made.Most of the material seem to be an inside joke. Some of the stuff is readily grasped, but other gags could be elusive for people not in the biz. Catherine O'Hara shines as Marilyn, a woman of a certain age that is transformed by the buzz the media has generated. At the end, she is a pathetic acting coach showing the ravages of the cosmetic changes she has gone through in order to be on the limelight.Parker Posey is also effective as Callie. Eugene Levy is funny as the worst agent anyone can have. Christopher Guest appears as the director. Ed Begley Jr. is seen as a gay makeup artist. Harry Shearer enjoys for the first time being in the spotlight after a mediocre career. Jennifer Coolidge shows up as the producer of the ill conceived film. Ricky Gervais has a small part as the head of the Sunfish studio who wants to tone down the Jewishness aspect of the initial film. Fred Willard is hilarious as the TV commentator with a reddish Mohawk.Most of the cast has appeared in other Christopher Guest movies. They all contribute to work as a team. Even if the film is not to the standards of the previous work, it's impossible not to enjoy the shenanigans of the behind the camera by the ensemble players.