Fun
Christopher Guest’s Quiet Looniness
Dear Kay,
This Is Spinal Tap is my favorite movie. The 1984 mock documentary about England’s loudest rock band is something I quote chapter and verse. I almost named a child Nigel Tufnel Shayne, just saying, for Christopher Guest’s portrayal of a magnificently deluded guitar player.
It was Rob Reiner’s movie, but Christopher Guest wrote the screenplay—for a basically improvised movie, but whatever. I still think of it as a Christopher Guest movie. (Sorry, Rob Reiner!)
So when Christopher Guest shows up with a movie, especially his first new movie in a decade, I’m in. Mascots premiered on Netflix last week, streaming, just pouring right out of your computer—yet another movie that explores a subculture, this time the world of professional sports mascots.
Improvising a World
This is not the best Christopher Guest movie. (Sorry, Christopher Guest!) But at this point, with the same group of actors appearing from film to film, I watch to see how they will improvise their way through the lives of characters who are living out their dreams to wildly varying degrees of success.
It’s all improvised. Parker Posey, one of my favorites, says in Vanity Fair that Guest “definitely created his own formula with actors that only worked in a specific kind of way. It had to do with the creating of a certain character or persona. And you don’t know what you’re going to say—you’re just going to be in the moment with someone else . . . and then something happens.”
So: if you haven’t seen This Is Spinal Tap, do that. If you have, then Mascots is a comfy ride with plenty of laughs, a few cringe-making moments, and all these actors riffing without cease.
Guest is interested in very specific worlds where the stakes are low and the emotions run high.
Community theatre: Waiting for Guffman.
Dog shows: Best in Show.
Folk musicians: A Mighty Wind.
You know, sort of like . . . knitting.
Love,
Ann
PS Bonus content: Here are Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (whose Portlandia owes a lot to Christopher Guest) on the brilliance of This Is Spinal Tap.
I needed this post, so many ideas to binge on while working on simple house slippers for Christmas. And that cute shrug she’s wearing on the Mascots trailer. Does anyone know the pattern? Living in Florida where it’s now HOT all year long and so cold inside one needs a light little wrap.
What pattern are the house slippers? I just saw on Instagram where Karen Templer is working on a nice psir of classic style.
OMG you must lobby him to make a knitting mockumentary! Let’s get brainstorming, people.
Spinal Tap is a family rite of passage in our house. We call your first time seeing it your tap mitzvah!
The first time I saw Spinal Tap was right after the removal of my wisdom teeth and the movie was just released. My face was swollen and bruised, as if I lost a terrible fight. As I sat in the theatre, I recall that every time I laughed I also cried in pain. I don’t ever recall laughing so hard during a movie. The movie is pure genius. Smell the Glove.
“Mine goes up to eleven.”
I have never seen Spinal Tap. I shall make a note, and watch it on a Lazy Sunday when the snow is high and the winds are blowing. Today, in southern Ontario, we are experiencing early fall weather, where one barely needs a coat for a walk, and definitely doesn’t need one to finish the outside yard work. Three large trugs full, and still more to go. My back and I are taking a short break to have some lunch.
Now I know exactly what I’m doing tonight with my extra Daylight Saving Time hour: the Never-Fail Mitts and the new Chris Guest flick! The perfect election anxiety quencher. THANK YOU.
One of my favorite movies of all time – owned it in videotape first, still have it in dvd. Can quote it at length (but refrain to avoid annoying people), never fail to appreciate watching it. If I could choose only one line from it: “There’s a fine line between stupid and clever”.
Christopher Guest is just the best. My personal favorite is Waiting for Guffman. My husband and I watched that so many times (years ago) and we quote it all the time. Spinal Tap is right up there too!
If you’re interested in pre-Guffman Christopher Guest, check out “Goodbye Pop,” an audio album from National Lampoon. I have it on vinyl, but now can only find it on YouTube. It’s a look at early-mid 70s rock music and formatted sort of like a late-night radio show. In addition to CG in multiple roles, it features Bill Murray, Gilda Radnor, John Belushi, and others from early SNL and SC-TV. Unbelievably brilliant if you’re old enough to remember the music. My first encounter with Christopher Guest and I’ve been a fan ever since.