Best in Show (2000)

Director:

Christopher Guest

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

1 March 2001 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Some pets deserve a little more respect than others.

Plot:

A colorful array of characters competes at a national dog show.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Dog Show | Florida | Hotel | Ventriloquist

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jay Brazeau	...	Dr. Chuck Nelken
Parker Posey	...	Meg Swan
Michael Hitchcock	...	Hamilton Swan
Catherine O'Hara	...	Cookie Fleck
Eugene Levy	...	Gerry Fleck
Carrie Aizley	...	Fern City Show Spectator
Lewis Arquette	...	Fern City Show Spectator
Dany Canino	...	Fern City Show Judge
Bob Balaban	...	Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III
Will Sasso	...	Fishin' Hole Guy
Stephen E. Miller	...	Fishin' Hole Guy
Christopher Guest	...	Harlan Pepper
Michael McKean	...	Stefan Vanderhoof
John Michael Higgins	...	Scott Donlan
Colin Cunningham	...	New York Butcher

Also Known As:

Dog Show (USA) (working title)
Dogumentary (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and sex-related material.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:15 | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | USA:PG-13 (No. 37689) | Greece:K | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | New Zealand:PG | Spain:T | UK:12 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

All the scenes featuring numerous dogs went remarkably smoothly. There is only one unscripted bark in the film, heard in the background as Christy and Sherri Ann argue over Christy's makeup backstage.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As the judge nears Hamilton's dog for a closer inspection, "Beatrice" suddenly barks and lunges at her. If you look closely you can see the judges hand closed tightly as she hold the treats used as incentive for the dog to pursue her.

Quotes:

Buck Laughlin: [after Beatrice the dog jumps up on the show judge] He went for her like she's made outta ham.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 50 Greatest Comedy Films (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Terrier Style

A good fakeumentary

Christopher Guest's Best of Show follows his great tradition of fake-documentaries which includes This is Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman. This time, he takes a poke at dog shows, which is something no one has done before (I think). Here, he shows 5 different contenders (including himself which is one of the great parts of this film). Other contenders include Michael McKean, Michael Hitchcock, Catherine O'Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey and in a exceptional effort as a man with 2 left feet, Eugene Levy (he also co-wrote the script with Guest). Often very funny, sometimes poignant, and like all of Guest's projects, never dissapointing, only liability might be that it isn't for all tastes (but hey, not everyone found 11 on a sound stsyem great either which seems odd). A-