It’s a complete waste of time to search for the town of
Blaine, Missouri on the map.
As the setting for WAITING FOR GUFFMAN Blaine certainly
looks like a picture-perfect example of small-town America but it doesn’t
exist.
It’s a three dimensional figment of the unique imagination
of Christopher Guest, the film’s actor-writer-director and a keen student of
the ridiculous in everyday life.
WAITING FOR GUFFMAN zeroes in on Blaine as the burg prepares
to celebrate its 150th birthday with a musical celebration titled “Red, White
and Blaine.”
The town council hires failed Broadway director Corky St
Clair (Guest) to create the extravaganza. Corky’s big on ambition but tiny on
talent and misguidedly sees the show as his ticket back to the big time.
He motivates his cast of five amateur thespians (all equally
tiny on talent) by telling them that important talent scout Mort Guffman will
be in the opening night audience and if he likes what he sees they could all be
heading to the Great White Way!
WAITING FOR GUFFMAN is a wonderful example of the genre
which Guest has made practically his own – the mockumentary - a comedy
masquerading as a documentary.
There’s a real art to this kind of sharply observed,
non-judgemental humour and – having cut his mock documentary teeth as Nigel
Tufnel in “This is Spinal Tap” - Christopher Guest is a master of the craft.
He peoples Blaine with a cast of characters who are funny precisely
because they take themselves so seriously. They see no humour in their
behaviour, fashion sense, and relationships and would be embarrassed and
appalled if they realised that others were laughing at them.
Guest’s Corky St Clair is blatantly camp with an ill-advised
toupee and a barely disguised crush on his hunky leading man, yet everyone with
the exception of the leading man’s father, accepts Corky’s mannerisms as
“artistic” and nothing more.
Corky, in turn, never thinks to challenge town dentist Dr
Pearl’s (Eugene Levy) characterisation of himself as a genuinely amusing
entertainer even though it’s obvious to us outsiders that he’s substituting
hard work and enthusiasm for any actual showbusiness talent.
And no one at all considers it the least bit strange that
city’s sole travel agency is run by the Albertsons, a couple who’ve never left
Blaine. Sheila (Catherine O’Hara) is a borderline hysteric with a drink problem
while Ron (Fred Willard) is hearty but oppressively overbearing.
It’s the highlighting of these foibles, failings and
idiosyncrasies which makes the townsfolk of Blaine so real and endearing. Corky
and company unselfconsciously bring to life the eccentricities we recognise in
those we work and socialise with, even if we don’t always spot these same flaws
in ourselves.
A comedy which is both subtle and laugh out loud funny 1997’s
WAITING FOR GUFFMAN was the first of four mockmentaries to team Guest with
Levy, O’Hara and Willard and the three subsequent outings – “Best in Show”(2000), “A Mighty Wind”
(2003) and “For Your Consideration” (2006) are all worthy of equal praise.
A hugely entertaining send-up of small-town American life,
amateur theatricals and the human condition, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN is a genuine
viewing pleasure that will give you an itch you just can’t scratch enough for
more of Guest’s output.
