A Mighty Wind (2003)

Mockumentary captures the reunion of 1960s folk trio the Folksmen as they prepare for a show at The Town Hall to memorialize a recently deceased concert promoter.

Director:

Christopher Guest

Writers:

Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy

Stars:

Jim Moret, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Moret	...	Newscaster
Stuart Luce	...	Irving Steinbloom
Mary Gross	...	Ma Klapper
Marty Belafsky	...	Ramblin' Sandy Pitnik (as Marty Belasky)
Michael Baser	...	Pa Klapper
Jared Nelson Smith	...	Young Chuck Wiseman
Ryan Raddatz	...	Bill Weyburn
Todd Lieberman	...	Fred Knox
Matthew Joy	...	Boy Klapper
Laura Harris	...	Girl Klapper
Brian Riley	...	Young George Menschell
Harry Shearer	...	Mark Shubb
Michael McKean	...	Jerry Palter
Christopher Guest	...	Alan Barrows
Eugene Levy	...	Mitch Cohen

Storyline

When folk icon Irving Steinbloom passed away, he left behind a legacy of music and a family of performers he has shepherded to folk stardom. To celebrate a life spent submerged in folk, Irving's loving son Jonathan has decided to put together a memorial concert featuring some of Steinbloom's best-loved musicians. There's Mitch and Mickey, who were the epitome of young love until their partnership was torn apart by heartbreak; classic troubadours The Folksmen, whose records were endlessly entertaining for anyone able to punch a hole in the center to play them; and The New Main Street Singers, the most meticulously color-coordinated neuftet ever to hit an amusement park. Now for one night only in New York City's Town Hall, these three groups will reunite and gather together to celebrate the music that almost made them famous.

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Plot Keywords:

concert | new york city | singer | amusement park | mockumentary | 

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Taglines:

Back together for the first time, again.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us] Soundtrack website (U.S.)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Christopher Guest Project

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£62,657 (UK) (16 January 2004)

Gross:

£62,657 (UK) (16 January 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to the four film cameras used to film the concert, a few TV cameras were used. They filmed the entire concert as it would have appeared on television.

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Goofs

When Terry and Laurie Bohner are telling the story of how they met, Laurie's arm is alternately around Terry's shoulders/by her side between shots.

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Quotes

Lars Olfen: I had a garage band in Stockholm, which was a challenge in its own right, to keep an instrument tuned with that temperature swing. There's a block warmer for the Volvo in the garage but it's cold in there in the winter. So we played and I had a hit that you might have heard of. "Hur ?r l?get, lilla gumman?" which means, "How's It Hanging, Grandma?" and it was big on the Swedish charts.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the film, before the traditional scrolling credits, the screen is filled with all the main actors' names. One at a time, each star's name is highlighted, in alphabetical order. The scrolling credits are in order of appearance.

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Connections

References Soarin' (2001)

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Soundtracks

"When You're Next to Me"
Written by Eugene Levy
Performed by Eugene Levy (as Mitch) & Catherine O'Hara (as Mickey)

User Reviews

Decent, But Not Guest's Best

The third and last installment of Christopher Guest's "mockumentaries," this one centers around three folk-singing groups from the 1960s re-uniting for a concert many years later.

As someone who well remembers most of the folk singers from the '50s and '60s, and was familiar with Guest's other movies, I was anxious to see this. It was okay, but to be honest, I expected more, at least more laughs and a little better pacing. This was just a bit too slow and not as funny as his other films, especially "Best In Show."

There is some great music in here, to be sure, and not lip-synced, either, but most of that isn't heard until the last 30 minutes. Most of the same actors are in this film as in the previous two "mockumentaries," and I always appreciate the comedic talents of Catherine O'Hara and the rest of the crew.

The humor is unique, dry....very dry, and I appreciated it a bit more on the second viewing. The only annoying person, to me, was Eugene Levy's character "Mickey," a spaced-out loser whose act wears thin the more you see of him.

It's not a bad film; just not up to Guest's '"Best Of Show."