A Mighty Wind

2003 Comedy

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. more..

Director: Christopher Guest

Starring: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean,Eugene Levy,Harry Shearer,Bob Balaban

Reviews

  • Mr. Guest and Mr. Levy's jokes are sometimes so subtle as to seem imperceptible, until you realize that they are everywhere, from the broadest gestures to the tiniest details of dress and décor.

    Dana Stevens - The New York Times

    29 November 2012

  • A movie that re-creates its object of satire with such pitch-perfect flair that it all but erases the line between derision and love.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    29 November 2012

  • The picture gently caricatures the folk music scene with dozens of delicate brush strokes, creating a picture that's increasingly, gloriously funny -- as in entire lines of dialogue are lost because the audience's laughing so hard.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    29 November 2012

  • The jokes would be funny even if they weren't perfectly timed, but what makes them come across as so poignant is the seriousness with which the director and his co-conspirators deliver their jabs and japes.

    Manohla Dargis - Los Angeles Times

    29 November 2012

  • Guest has proven to be this era's master of humanist satire.

    Ann Hornaday - The Washington Post

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Best Music, Original Song

    Academy Awards (2004)

     
  • Best Song

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2004)

  • Film - Pretty Funny Performance - Male

    Canadian Comedy Awards (2004)

  • Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Contemporary

    Costume Designers Guild Awards (2004)

  • Best Ensemble Cast

    Florida Film Critics Circle Awards (2004)