Waiting for Guffman (1996)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Christopher Guest

Writers (WGA):

Christopher Guest (written by) &
Eugene Levy (written by)

Release Date:

31 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

There's A Good Reason Some Talent Remains Undiscovered

Plot:

An aspiring director and the marginally-talented amateur cast of a hokey small-town Missouri musical production go overboard when they learn that someone from Broadway will be in attendance.

Plot Keywords:

Missouri | Dairy Queen | Dentist | Amateur Theater | Travel Agent

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Deborah Theaker	...	Gwen Fabin-Blunt - Councilwoman
Michael Hitchcock	...	Steve Stark - Councilman
Scott Williamson	...	Tucker Livingston - Councilman
Larry Miller	...	Glenn Welsch - Mayor
Don Lake	...	Phil Burgess - Blaine Historian
Christopher Guest	...	Corky St. Clair
Fred Willard	...	Ron Albertson
Catherine O'Hara	...	Sheila Albertson
Parker Posey	...	Libby Mae Brown
David Cross	...	UFO Expert
Eugene Levy	...	Dr. Allan Pearl
James McQueen	...	Singing Auditioner (as Jim McQueen)
Turk Pipkin	...	Ping Pong Ball Juggler
Jerry Turman	...	Raging Bull Auditioner
Bob Balaban	...	Lloyd Miller

Also Known As:

The Christopher Guest Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief strong language.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | SDDS | SDDS (uncredited)

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | USA:R (No. 33995)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The title is a reference to the Samuel Beckett play, "Waiting For Godot".

Goofs:

Continuity: After the play is finished, a stagehand comes into the dressing room to hand Corky the message from Mr. Guffman, then leaves the room. When he reads the message to the group, the stagehand is standing in the background over his shoulder. In the following shot when Corky sits down, she is gone again.

Quotes:

Corky St. Clair: Well, then, I just HATE you... and I hate your... ass... FACE!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: He's Slippin' 'Em Bread... Dig? (#6.10)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Midnight At The Oasis

Funny and deceptively authentic

The current climate of cinematic comedy is comparable, to an extent, to the trend in horror: everything is geared toward pull-out-all-stops excess that is more disgusting than entertaining. We should thank our lucky stars for Christopher Guest, a consistently surprising filmmaker (he directed "Best in Show" and wrote "This is Spinal Tap") who makes 'mockumentaries' that play like actual documentaries. "Waiting for Guffman" follows Corky St. Clair (Guest), a flamboyant stage director who gathers a group of 'eclectic' locals (a cross-eyed dentist; a husband-and-wife travel agent team; a Dairy Queen employee) for a production about the sleepy town in which they live (its claim to fame being home of the footstool). There is a hilarious authenticity to the behind-the-scenes footage, but the film never laughs at its subjects--as viewers, we share Corky's (admittedly delusional) passion with bittersweet good humor. The supporting cast--consisting of Guest regulars Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, and Larry Miller--is in top form here. "Waiting for Guffman" is a quiet comedy gem about a dull, quiet town. And it's also ridiculously rated "R" for two quick instances of F-word usage (way to call it, MPAA!).