You say Missouri, I think of Ole Miss. Not the same but close enough
Welcome to Blaine, Missouri. Stool Capital of the World. Within the first five minutes of the film. I knew I was in for a serious treat. "Some people find it ironical that although we own a travel agency, we've never been outside of Blaine." The people of Blaine went aboard an alien ship for a potluck dinner. The antics go on and on. I don't think I legitimately laughed once but the continual dry humor left me on edge. With a diverse cast of both well known and lesser known actors, it was comical to see Eugene Levy reduced to such a bland role: town dentist. This is rural community theater at it's finest. It reminded me of a play I saw over Christmas break titled something along the lines of "A Redneck Christmas," in Durham, NC. The jokes were somewhat similar and the play mocked itself in its presentation and theme it chose to convey. Personally, I found the use of improvisation to be a pertinent aspect to the film. There was no possible way that the film's integrity could have been retained had it been scripted. On the subject of mockumentary, comparing it to "Borat" and "The Dictator" seems appropriate. "Borat" was absolutely hilarious; crude but still funny. "The Dictator" recycled many of the same jokes in a scripted fashion and looked more like a low-budget movie than the comedy it held the potential to be.
Moral of the story: Guffman exceeds because it is both relatable, realistic and spontaneous. Now would I watch it if it was an actual play. Pay me first, then we'll see
Your comparison to "Borat" and "The Dictator" was superbly accurate. I could not bring myself to genuinely laugh while watching this film either. No doubt I found the irony very entertaining, but nothing too comical. I would have to agree with you regarding watching the film on my own time, getting paid to do it would be much more enticing!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the film's jokes. They were only funny because they were mocking themselves. I seemed to only laugh at the parts that were just ridiculously farfetched. I also liked your comparison to Borat and The Dictator, solely because their humor is roughly the same, just as you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteThe actors and actresses did an incredible job adlibbing the film. Your comparison to the films Borat and and the Dictator were quite accurate. If this film was scripted, much of the dry humor would have been lost, and it would've turned into another boring, oh-you're-trying-to-be-funny, movie. Although this film wasn't a laugh your socks off film, it did make me chuckle or roll my eyes at times. Rob Reiner did a phenomenal job in that sense.
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