Wind Power

Christopher Guest has made a few "mockumentaries" in his time, though until now I'd only actually seen one he didn't actually direct -- This is Spinal Tap. I decided to look at another film about a fake musicians, A Mighty Wind. This time, folk music (rather than hair metal) gets the satirical skewer, as three bands from decades past are brought together to perform in a memorial concert for the recently-deceased executive who ran their record label.

The humor in this movie is considerably more dry than This Is Spinal Tap. For the first chunk of the movie, in fact, it's actually more dry than just about anything you'd find outside of a British sitcom. (The Ricky Gervais kind; not the loud, door-slamming farce kind.) But it is funny.

There's a great cast in this film, and each of them has a moment to bring a smile to your face. It's very hard to guess where the script by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy ends and the improvisations begin, but that's either a testament to authentic writing or skilled acting. Probably both, at different times.

What's more, everyone in the movie sings their own parts and plays their own instruments. It adds another layer to the whole thing: the music is actually rather good. Tongues are planted firmly in cheeks as the movie serves up songs that feel like they really could have been 60s folk hits, complete with beautiful harmonies and orchestrations that sound familiar.

But the movie is pretty short on laugh out loud moments. There's a big one courtesy of Jennifer Coolidge who, as in American Pie, takes five minutes of screen time and runs with it brilliantly. But besides that, the movie is content simply to put a smile on your face.

It does do that rather effectively, though. I rate A Mighty Wind a B+.