A Mighty Wind' soars with laughter

Christopher Guest and his super-talented crew of improvisers/actors have proven the strength of his mockumentary style once again in their new film A Mighty Wind. Without an actual script, the actors create their own characters and their own dialogue while following some basic script structures.

Guest, along with co-writer Eugene Levy and co-actor Catherine O'Hara, have also reinforced something the cast of Kids in the Hall, Jim Carrey and Mike Myers did long ago -- that the funniest people come from Canada.

In this third Guest-directed mockumentary (This is Spinal Tap is not included as it was directed by Rob Reiner), the audience is taken into the world of folk music. As in Guest's last two movies, Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman -- which star many of the same actors as Wind -- the plot is based around one big event. In Guffman, it was a community play; in Show, it was a dog show; in Wind, it is a one-night folk music reunion concert.

As the story unfolds, the director makes very good use of some black and white flashback scenes to introduce the characters and to show them at the height of their folk music glory. Guest does an excellent job of bringing the audience into this world from the point of view of the characters' memories, where the past is neatly stored with visions of grandeur.

Next, film editor Robert Leighton -- who has worked on previous Guest movies -- cuts to full-color scenes of the different folk groups playing now, not at auditoriums, but amusement parks. Then, the history and members of each of the groups unfolds in the familiar short-scene-hodge-podge format which defines the mockumentary.

While the concept for the plot of this film is in some ways funnier than the premises for the last two flicks, ultimately, the story lacks an overall unity that makes the others so memorable. To be fair, these movies, especially the characters, have a tendency to grow on you after multiple viewings. It is not hard to imagine these characters doing just that after repeated showings.

Yet, as funny as the characters are and as ridiculous as the plot may be, the movie as a whole does leave one feeling slightly unfulfilled and disappointed. Whereas in Guest's past films, the audience cared enough about the characters to see what happened to them after the film's central event, in Wind it is almost irrelevant. The ending for most of the characters is bleak, at best, because the movie reveals that the world has no more room for folk music stars like it did in the 1960s.

To be honest, creating an end for any mockumentary is a difficult task. The purpose of the genre is to elucidate the ridiculousness of everyday people who strive for fame -- essentially, to be someone they are not -- and ultimately being forced to come to the realization of their own mediocrity.

In many ways, Guest and his crew do a better job in the two previous movies of embracing, and then stripping away the layers, of the characters' dreams of stardom than in Wind. This is not to say, however, that the actors in Wind do not do a great job in creating some of the funniest and most idiosyncratic characters ever on screen.

Catherine O'Hara has demonstrated her ability as one of the best improv/actors working today and she proves herself again here. She and Eugene Levy always have a great comic connection. Fred Willard steals the show for a while with his unbelievably funny bits as the producer of the Main Street Singers. Parker Posey, who has been in all of Guest's films, creates a very funny character, who is not given nearly enough screen time. Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, along with Guest do an excellent job of playing the folk trio, The Folksmen.

All the actors definitely have their moments, but, ultimately, the lack of unity among them and the lack of interest in the character's futures leaves this movie below Guest's other works.