Review of A Mighty Wind

Christopher Guest is one of the most versatile filmmakers working today; when he and Eugene Levy work on a script, the end result is usually something special. And continuing with a collaboration that began with "Waiting for Guffman," we now have "A Mighty Wind"...a mockumentary about a folk-music revival that is simply too sincere for its own good. That's not to say it isn't funny in spurts--Levy's 1960s folk-music casualty, Ed Begley Jr.'s random bursts of Yiddish, and Fred Willard's hilariously lame band manager--but it ultimately comes up short in the comedy department, to the point where you're left wondering if Guest just wanted to make a fake documentary about the folk revival out of respect. Indeed, Guest's reliable troupe of comedic players (including Levy, Catherine O'Hara, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, and Harry Shearer, among others) are in top form, but their lines seldom produce the hearty laughs we've come to expect, and the characters are too hastily introduced (the film is limited by its 90-minute run time; Guest's work would actually be better translated to a fake-reality TV series). This, however, is forgivable, since all of them sing well enough to produce an incredibly rousing (and applause-worthy) finale, where all the musicians participate in a public-television tribute to honor their recently-deceased former manager. While no "Spinal Tap," "A Mighty Wind" has its worthwhile moments (it's just a shame there aren't more of them).