Waiting for Guffman

1996 Comedy

The city of Blaine, Missouri is celebrating its sesquicentennial, and what better reason could there be to put on a show? Corky St. Claire (Christopher Guest), current leader of Blaine's community theater group and creator of a stage musical version of Backdraft that led to the unfortunate destruction of the theater, has been commissioned to put together a musical about the city's noble history, "Red, White and Blaine," which stars a variety of the town's theatrical talent. Corky's cast includes Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), a pair of married travel agents that Corky calls "the Lunts of Blaine;" Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy), a dentist who insists that he wasn't the class clown in high school but did sit next to him; Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), a sweet young thing who lives for her job at the Dairy Queen; and Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette), an "Old Blainian" who makes gun racks from deer hooves. Somehow, Corky has persuaded a major theatrical producer in New York to send a representative to look at the show -- is it possible that "Red, White and Blaine" could be headed to Broadway? Christopher Guest directed and co-wrote this very funny mock-documentary, in addition to playing the flamboyant Corky; Guests's partners from This Is Spinal Tap, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, helped write the memorable songs for "Red, White and Blaine." more..

Director: Christopher Guest

Starring: Christopher Guest, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey,Eugene Levy,Bob Balaban

Reviews

  • A madcap gem.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    11 May 2013

  • I lost it just watching Corky show off such memorabilia as "My Dinner With Andre" action figures and a "Remains of the Day" lunch box. Priceless.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    11 May 2013

  • The nonstop amusing mockumentary Waiting for Guffman does to small-town acting troupes what "This Is Spinal Tap did to heavy-metal bands."

    Susan Wloszczyna - USA Today

    11 May 2013

  • The movie doesn't bludgeon us with gags. It proceeds with a certain comic relentlessness from setup to payoff, and its deliberation is part of the fun.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    11 May 2013

  • The humor is uneven and sometimes crude, but much of the mock-documentary is surprising and amusing.

    David Sterritt - Christian Science Monitor

    11 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Feature

    Independent Spirit Awards (1998)

     
  • Best Director

    Lone Star Film & Television Awards (1998)