Mockumentary’s favorite dream team, Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy – who brought you “”Best in Show,”” “”Waiting for Guffman”” and “”A Mighty Wind”” – are back with “”For Your Consideration,”” a film that pokes fun at Hollywood and the media’s influence on selecting Academy Award nominees. The film does it hysterically with its zany characters, social commentary and hilarious moments.
The movie chronicles the development of an imaginary film, titled “”Home for Purim,”” about a Jewish family coming together for the holiday to visit their dying mother, actress Marilyn Hack (Catherine O’Hara). (The title of the film is eventually changed to “”Home for Thanksgiving.”” Apparently the Purim title was “”too Jewish”” for the mainstream public.)
“”For Your Consideration”” makes fun of the behind-the-scenes filming process and spares no one – not producers, writers, Hollywood media, actors nor even the director (played by Guest himself).
The actors’ humor and dialogue is the same as past Guest/Levy films, but the film is more of a satire than a mockumentary. It focuses on demeaning the Hollywood awards process and poking fun at all those surrounding it.
The satire of the Hollywood entertainment industry is definitely strong. Many of the most hilarious moments include the times when the actors seem to be sending themselves up , especially Catherine O’Hara, who treats herself as God’s gift to theater and overacts in her scenes for “”Home for Purim.””
Although the movie does not showcase Eugene Levy’s funniest performance, mostly because he doesn’t play a central character in the story, Jennifer Coolidge’s amusing but floozy portrayal of producer Whitney Taylor Brown is flawless. Although it may be the same character she plays in every other Guest/Levy film, Coolidge is as nitwitted as ever.
In one scene, a Hollywood reporter asks what exactly a producer does, and Coolidge casually replies, “”Lots of paying for sometimes ridiculous things – like snacks.””
The movie also satirizes a hilarious and wacky “”Access Hollywood””-like show that features tan and blonde co-host Fred Willard as Chuck Porter and Jane Lynch as the blonde and almost mechanical host Cindy Martin. She’s an exaggerated caricature of everything that broadcast Hollywood reporters aspire to be: robotic, frightening and inhuman. It’s about time somebody made fun of that show.
The movie is unquestionably entertaining from beginning to end, with the awkward pauses and the “”fast talk”” of the eccentric yet less than intelligent people involved in the film. Moral of the story: People get far too worked up for Academy Award nominations. Hollywood mass-produces horrible films like “”Home for Purim,”” but they somehow get pushed through and hyped up by the whole Hollywood industry.
Fortunately, “”For Your Consideration”” is not nearly as bad as the movies it makes fun of.
