Review

Christopher Guest and company's fourth, and hopefully final, "mockumentary" outing is a harmless satire of Hollywood egos during awards season. Guest portrays the director of the fictional melodrama Home for Purim, which, as the title alludes, leads to an onslaught of lazy jabs at Hollywood’s resident Jews in a "wink wink, we're laughing with you" manner. The egos of Purim's cast members inflate after an on-set mention of internet Oscar buzz surrounding this movie-within-a-movie. Shooting continues, agents make calls and entertainment programs are skewered as Hollywood's most important beauty pageant approaches. The envelopes are opened at the film's climax where the characters and viewers anxiously await the results of what will surely be a train wreck.

Viewers can expect to see all of the usually reliable Guest stars. The good include Harry Shearer and Catherine O'Hara as Oscar hopefuls whose egos go to their heads and, in O'Hara's case, her face. A Botox gag can only elicit a certain number of laughs before it gets tired, especially during an age that has come to accept the toxic cosmetic’s existence. The film's most disappointing performances include the two highlights of Guest's Best In Show: Eugene Levy as a clueless, slimy agent and Fred Willard as the brash host of an Entertainment Tonight-type show. Both actors seem less energetic than they have in the past, their performances feel scripted, and no matter how long the viewer waits for the expected laughs, they simply never arrive. Parker Posey and the rest of the gang do their usual shtick. Notable cameos include Ricky Gervais (the British "Office") and John Krasinksi (the American "Office") whose brief roles in the film serve as unintentional reminders of how funny comedy can actually be.

For Your Consideration just doesn't feel like a Christopher Guest film. Perhaps moviegoers are too familiar with the film's environment, the success of his past films relied on their unique settings which included small-town musical theater and dog shows. The failed attempts at humor on the parts of some of Hollywood's funniest performers are inexplicable. Attempts at humorous lines are consistently followed by pauses allowing room for laughter that isn’t deserved. Maybe the script was tighter than in the past, allowing less room for improvisation. The ultimate source for the film's failure most likely lies in the tired "mockumentary" format itself, a style that Guest pushed to its limits two films ago.

 -- Eric Bresler