A Mighty Wind
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A Mighty Wind
Plot
The writing and directing team who created Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show turn their satiric eye toward the world of folk music in this sly mockumentary. Irving Steinbloom was one of the great behind-the-scenes figures of the folk music boom of the late '50s and early '60s, and helped to nurture the careers of three of the best known acts of the era. The Folksmen -- Mark Shubb (Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (Michael McKean) -- were an earnest folk trio who sang of America's noble past and the challenges of the future; they split up in the early '70s after a failed attempt to go electric. Mitch & Mickey were a duo in both music and life, comprised of Mitch Cohen (Eugene Levy) and Mickey Devlin (Catherine O'Hara). They sang soulful songs of love until the collapse of their relationship sent Mitch into a deep and incapacitating depression. And The Main Street Singers were a nine-piece vocal group -- a "neuftet," as they prefer it -- who offered energetic good-time music, cranking out nearly 30 albums in the course of a decade; their current incarnation, The New Main Street Singers (played by Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins, David Alan Blasucci, Steve Pandis, Christopher Moynihan, Paul Dooley and Patrick Sauber) is still on the road. When it is announced that the legendary Irving Steinbloom has died (the character never appears in the film), his son Jonathan (Bob Balaban) decides that the best way to memorialize his father is through music, and with the help of Mike LaFontaine (Fred Willard) of Hi-Class Management, they set out to bring The Folksmen, Mitch & Mickey, and The New Main Street Singers back together for a special concert at New York's Town Hall. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer -- who previously teamed up for This Is Spinal Tap -- not only perform together as The Folksmen in A Mighty Wind, but composed most of the songs performed onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, RoviReview
If you've gotten an A+ more than once, no one ever seems to be entirely satisfied when your report card says A-, and that's the biggest bugaboo in reviewing A Mighty Wind. While it's a clever and thoroughly enjoyable comedy on its own terms, knowing that A Mighty Wind comes from the same creative team which made Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show sets up some unusually high expectations, and when one makes the inevitable comparisons, A Mighty Wind falls short. The film's biggest failing is that while much of the same superb comic cast from those two films is on hand this time out (and Harry Shearer is on board as Spinal Tap go undercover as the Folksmen), many of them simply aren't given enough to do, especially Parker Posey, Don Lake, and Michael Hitchcock, while Fred Willard, Larry Miller, and Jennifer Coolidge are saddled with roles that are simply beneath their abilities. While Guffman and Best in Show both had great moments where characters were able to strongly, clearly, and hilariously define their characters in a few brief moments, A Mighty Wind has more than its share of players who have funny shtick but not much of a persona to go along with it, and the film suffers for it. However, the moments that do work compensate for the flaws, and many of the film's best moments come in unexpected places. The songs brilliantly walk a line between sincere tribute and vicious parody of early-'60s folk tunes (especially "Old Joe's Place" and "Never Did No Wanderin'"), and Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are not only hilarious but unexpectedly moving as a divorced couple forced to deal with a lot of old baggage as they prepare for their reunion gig; would that every film about divorce could be as insightful. If -- to belabor the academic metaphor -- A Mighty Wind isn't the magna cum laude candidate you likely expect from Christopher Guest after his previous two directorial efforts, it's still strong enough to make the dean's list, and suggests Guest and his repertory company may have a few more surprises in store for their next effort. ~ Mark Deming, RoviCast
- Bob Balaban - Jonathan Steinbloom
- Christopher Guest - Alan Barrows
- Catherine O'Hara - Mickey Devlin Crabbe
- Eugene Levy - Mitch Cohen
- Michael McKean - Jerry Palter
- Jane Lynch - Laurie Bohner
- John Michael Higgins - Terry Bohner
Credit
Pat Tagliaferro - Art Director, Richard Hicks - Casting, Durinda Wood - Costume Designer, Scott Andrew Robertson - First Assistant Director, Christopher Guest - Director, Robert Leighton - Editor, Donna E. Bloom - Line Producer, Catherine O'Hara - Composer (Music Score), Annette O'Toole - Composer (Music Score), C.J. Vanston - Composer (Music Score), Eugene Levy - Composer (Music Score), Michael McKean - Composer (Music Score), Harry Shearer - Composer (Music Score), John Michael Higgins - Composer (Music Score), Catherine O'Hara - Songwriter, Annette O'Toole - Songwriter, C.J. Vanston - Songwriter, Christopher Guest - Songwriter, Eugene Levy - Songwriter, Michael McKean - Songwriter, Harry Shearer - Songwriter, John Michael Higgins - Songwriter, Joseph T. Garrity - Production Designer, Arlene Donnelly Nelson - Cinematographer, Karen Murphy - Producer, Dena Roth - Set Designer, Mark Weingarten - Sound/Sound Designer, Christopher Guest - Screenwriter, Eugene Levy - Screenwriter, C.J. Vanston - Music Producer| A Mighty Heart (2007 Film), A Midsummer Nightmare (1975 Film) | |
| A Mile in His Shoes (2011 Film), A Million Bid (1915 Film) |
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A Mighty Wind
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A Mighty Wind
For the Andre Crouch album, see Mighty Wind.
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| A Mighty Wind | |
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 Original theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Christopher Guest |
| Produced by | Karen Murphy |
| Written by | Christopher Guest Eugene Levy |
| Starring | Catherine O'Hara Eugene Levy Christopher Guest Michael McKean Harry Shearer Jane Lynch Parker Posey Fred Willard |
| Music by | Christopher Guest |
| Cinematography | Arlene Nelson |
| Editing by | Robert Leighton |
| Studio | Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | April 16, 2003 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,000,000[1] |
| Box office | $18,750,246 |
A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed (and co-written) by Christopher Guest. The film is thought to reference the 2003 tribute concert to folk music producer Harold Leventhal that reunited several of the folk groups that Leventhal had managed.[2]
Guest co-stars and utilizes his company of actors from previous films such as This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show for this film. They include Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Dooley, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Rachael Harris, Don Lake, Jane Lynch, Larry Miller, Jim Piddock, Deborah Theaker, and Parker Posey. Several characters in the film originated in a sketch written by Guest for Saturday Night Live in 1984.
A song composed for the film by McKean and wife Annette O'Toole was nominated for an Academy Award. Every song featured in the film (at least 13) was also written by the cast or Guest's long-term musical collaborator C J Vanston .
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Contents
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Plot
When influential folk music producer Irving Steinbloom dies, his children organize a memorial concert featuring his three most famous acts: The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and Mitch & Mickey.
The Folksmen trio consists of Mark Shubb (Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (Michael McKean). Their most famous folk song was "Old Joe's Place."
The New Main Street Singers are the second generation of the original Main Street Singers, formed by George Menschell (Paul Dooley), the sole survivor of the original group. Menschell sings and holds a guitar he cannot play. Performers include Terry Bohner (John Michael Higgins) and his wife Laurie Bohner (Jane Lynch). Laurie is a former adult film star and with her husband, is co-founder of Witches in Nature's Colors (WINC), a coven of modern-day witches that worships the power of color. Another member is Sissy Knox (Parker Posey), a former juvenile delinquent and daughter of one of the original Main Street Singers. They are managed by Mike LaFontaine (Fred Willard), whose fifteen minutes of fame came by way of a failed 1970s TV sitcom, Wha' Happened?, which lasted less than one season. The group, which is otherwise entirely white, includes one Filipino American member, Mike Maryama (played by Mark Nonisa).
Mitch Cohen (Eugene Levy) and Mickey Crabbe (Catherine O'Hara) are a romantic duo that released seven albums together until their traumatic break-up decades earlier. Their most famous song is "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," during which the pair would actually kiss on stage.
After the three groups agree to the reunion performance, to be held at The Town Hall in New York and televised live on PBN, they begin rehearsals. The show itself goes off with only two hitches: two acts plan to play the same song, and Mitch temporarily disappears. In the finale, everyone joins together to sing "A Mighty Wind."
Six months after the reunion, Mickey is performing "The Sure-Flo Song" at her husband's trade show booth. Mitch is writing poetry again, claiming to be in a "prolific phase." Folksmen Mark Shubb is living life as a transgender woman, while still singing in his famous bass voice. LaFontaine is reviving an idea for a sitcom starring the New Main Street Singers. He wants to call it "Supreme Folk" and have each play Supreme Court judges by day, folk singers sharing a house by night.
Production
In an interview about the film, Annette O'Toole claimed that many of the songs were written when plane groundings in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks meant she and husband Michael McKean had to drive from their home in Los Angeles to Vancouver, where O'Toole's television series Smallville was being filmed.
In the commentary for the DVD release, Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy say that in a scene that was cut from the finished movie, it is explained that Menschell cannot play the guitar, but that just before a performance of the original Main Street Singers, he got a stain on the front of his shirt and covered it up by holding a guitar for the performance, something he continued to do for all subsequent performances.
The Town Hall scenes were filmed at the restored Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
Reception
The film received mostly positive reviews. Movie review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of critics gave the movie a positive review, with the consensus, "Though not as uproariously funny as Guest's previous movies, A Mighty Wind is also more heartfelt." Roger Moore called the film "mature, heartfelt and keenly observed." Roger Ebert, on the other hand, stated that "The edge is missing from Guest's usual style," giving the film two-and-a-half stars out of four.
One of the songs from the movie, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song, and was performed at the 76th Academy Awards by Levy and O'Hara (in character). The title song won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 46th Grammy Awards.
Box office
The film had a moderate intake for its opening day in April 2003, grossing $307,931 in total. It went on to gross $2,112,140 in 133 theatres for an average of $15,880 per theatre[3]. With a domestic total of $17,583,468 and a foreign total of $969,240, the film brought in a total of $18,750,246 during its theatre run.
Promotional tour
To promote the September 2003 release of the film on DVD, the cast of the film performed in character in a six-city tour in the fall of 2003. The tour dates were: Philadelphia (Tower Theater, September 19), New York City (Town Hall, September 20), Washington, D.C. (The 9:30 Club, September 21), Boston (Orpheum Theater, September 22), San Francisco (Warfield Theater, November 9) and Seattle (McCaw Hall, November 14).[4][5]
References
- ^ "The Numbers". Nash Information Services, LLC. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/MWIND.php. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (2005-10-06). "Harold Leventhal, Promoter of Folk Music, Dies at 86". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E0D61130F935A35753C1A9639C8B63.
- ^ "IMDb, A Mighty Wind". Amazon.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310281/business. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ Righi, Len (2003-09-18). ""Mighty Wind' tour whipping up renewed excitement"". The Morning Call. http://articles.mcall.com/2003-09-18/entertainment/3483532_1_mighty-wig-wind.
- ^ ""A Mighty Wind Cast Reunites For Tour"". Glide Magazine. 2003-09-08. http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/48285/a-mighty-wind-cast-reunites-for-tour.html.
External links
- A Mighty Wind at the Internet Movie Database
- A Mighty Wind at Rotten Tomatoes
- A Mighty Wind at Box Office Mojo
- Christopher Guest interview for A Mighty Wind
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