A Mighty Wind

Comedy is a very particular and individual thing, often it can be one of the hardest genres to prefect. My own opinion of comedy is that it should be subtle, dignified and have certain personal touch. I often get criticised for not enjoying the American Pie series or Adam Sandler films, frequently being called a snob because I don’t watch them. On the contrary, I appreciate the way in which these films are written and admire the pacing of the comedy, but in all honesty I think they’re just a little too silly and the humour is often a little too obvious.

A Mighty Wind is potentially one of the best comedy films I’ve seen and possibly the best Christopher Guest film. Simply because I think it has more of a certain Guestian flare about it. This Is Spinal Tap, For Your Consideration, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show are probably the Golden Era of Guest films, but A Mighty Wind seems to have a lot more going for it, it also seems to have much better jokes in it and I also think it has better performances from it too.

The film is one of his mockumentaries, which show the reunion of three folk bands for a memorial concert for folk concert promoter, Irving Steinbloom. Apart from the abundance of well-timed jokes, I admire the little recollections from various characters about Irvin Steinbloom. Something which is almost always used in real documentaries as a way of learning more about the subject of the documentary, but what is brilliant in Christopher Guest films is that they take the stories and make not only ludicrous, but also quite believable, something which ultimately makes them all the more ludicrous.

What I also love about the Golden Era of Guest films is the combination of many of the same actors and improvised dialogue; essentially it’s the perfect filmmaking conditions: being among your friends and making each other laugh all the time. The brilliance of the films, particularly in A Mighty Wind, is that the pacing is flawless with a constant barrage of jokes being aimed at you. Although at times I do find it difficult to keep up because I haven’t got time to stop and enjoy the last joke before the next one arrives, something that mustn’t be interpreted as a negative criticism, but rather a compliment and a testament to the brilliance of the gags.

I also enjoy the way in which essentially the use of the mockumentary is a simple platform to make the scenes and the situations a little more awkward than they already are. The way in which the point-and-shoot method of filming may seem a little lacking in terms of style, but it makes a greater freedom to explore the scene in other ways and it also makes the mise-en-scène spring into play much more. For example, the scene in which Jim Piddock is showing Eugene Levy his model town would not quite be the same if the mise-en-scène were’t littered with tiny jokes, may favourite being the tiny model of a brothel in the ‘French Quarter’, as Piddock labels it.

In terms of comedic style, Christopher Guest and A Mighty Wind have very varied styles which are personified through the array of characters that are present in the film. My personal favourite is his portrayal of social awkwardness, something that he gives a very accessible and approachable dimension to it. Often this type of comedy can be the opposite of this, which is problematic for reaching out to new audiences, as you run the risk of it going over their heads, leaving the jokes too easily lost.

The beauty of Christopher Guest is that he has made an attempt to bring revolutionary comedy to the big screen. In a sense, improvisation and social awkwardness are the best types of comedy because they are very similar – both aim to create a world where things can’t be deleted and the stupid things that people say are always going to be remembered. Unfortunately, this type of comedy isn’t quite universal in cinema but at least Christopher Guest has helped it along the way.