For Your Consideration

Christopher Guest, the master of the mockumentary, returns with another ensemble comedy co-written with regular collaborator Eugene Levy. After tackling amateur dramatics (Waiting for Guffman), dog breeding (Best in Show) and folk music (A Mighty Wind), the target this time is the movie industry itself - the title is a reference to the adverts that appear in trade magazines in the run-up to Oscar season. Guest plays Jay Berman, the director of a tacky would-be period epic called Home for Purim, starring has-been actors Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer) and Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara). By chance, a series of internet reports predict that this two-bit production will generate Oscar "buzz", throwing its stars, director, producer and writers into a tizzy, with the media predictably following suit. Unlike previous Guest films, the characters here are not followed around by a documentary crew and the emphasis is on big, broad laughs rather than satire and in-jokes. It's a slender premise, but the combination of dry one-liners, hilarious physical comedy and the genius of Fred Willard (as a news anchor on Hollywood Now) prove irresistible.