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Review #149 of 365
Film: A Prairie Home Companion (2006) [PG-13] 105 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $10.25
Where Viewed: Lincoln Square Cinemas, Bellevue, WA
When 1st Seen: 10 June 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Review Dedicated to: John & Bobbi S. of Faribault, MN
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DVD | soundtrack |
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Welcome listeners to KMOV* Radio here on this fine Sunday in mid-June. This is Scooter Thompson coming to you live and mostly conscious with your movieEVERYday report. You see, I climbed out of bed this breezy morning with a bit of a bump on my noggin which required a bit of a rub followed by a scratch. Why a bump? Well, probably from tossing and turning agonizing over the proper way to review Robert Altman's latest film, a tribute to one of the mid-west's most enduring contributions to radio, Garrison Keillor's A Praire Home Companion. You see, on the one hand you have Robert Altman fans. These are a very high brow crowd—no offense intended. They have high standards and expectations to the medium. Moreover, they do not take kindly to any criticisms of the man. On the other hand, you have Prairie Home Companion (APHC) / Garrison Keillor fans who are not as high brow—no offense intended—but are equally devoted and protective. Then on the third hand, you have people who just like to see a movie now and again and want to know if a certain movie is worth their hard-earned money. So, tossing and turning, and a bump on the head trying to appease all three hands. Well, so, here's my solution, coming up after this brief message from one of our sponsors, Chick Pea Soups.
S: "Oh, hi, Marge this is Selma."
M: "Yeah?"
S: "Oh, yeah."
M: "Selma?"
S: "Yeah!"
M: "Oh. Hi ya."
S: "Say, Marge."
M: "Yeah?"
S: "Oh, I was just wondering if you've tried Chick Pea Soups?"
M: "Oh, yeah."
S:" Yeah?"
M: "Yeah!"
S: "So, they're tasty then?"
M: "Yeah."
S: "Yeah?"
M: "Oh yeah, Selma, real tasty."
S: "Ok then, Marge. I'm going to buy some on your authority."
M: "Yeah?"
S: "Oh, yeah."
M: "Oh."
S: "Oh?"
M: "Selma, what's a chick pea anyway?"
S: "Oh, come on Marge. You know what a chick pea is."
M: "No."
S: "Oh?"
M: "Yeah."
S: "Oh, Marge, you silly grey duck."
M: "Yeah?"
S: "Yeah. A chick pea is just a fancy name for a garbanzo bean."
M: "Oh?"
S: "Yeah."
M: "Yeah? A garbanzo bean?"
S: "Yeah!"
M: "Oh!" [grins]
Singer: Chick Pea Soups made like you'd make 'em at home.
Chick Pea Soups, eat 'em till your grown! 7 different flavors, so do your family a favor, and buy Chick Pea Soups--soups of the mid-east, brought to the prairies of the mid-west.
Ok, and now back to our program. So, first, let's dispatch those pesky Robert Altman fans. Did you see Short Cuts? Did you see his segment of Aria—still one of only two films I've ever walked out on? Well enough said people. Get off your high horse. Still, he does a fine, fine job of directing A Prairie Home Companion. I have no qualms with the directing at all.
Now for the APHC and GK fans. Hmm, for the life of me, I cannot think of any reason you're not going to love this film. First, it's fun seeing Garrison Keillor playing himself. After all he created APHC, and he wrote the screenplay for the film. So, if you don't like it, one has to wonder why not? Isn't this what you like? Don't you like a folksy, simple, heartland approach to life? Here's a joke from the film, "There are two penguins. One says to the other, 'You look like you're wearing a tuxedo.' The other replies, 'What makes you think I'm not?' The vast majority of people not only don't think that joke is funny, they might just flip their car on an icy road trying to figure out why anyone would think it's funny. And that is Garrison Keillor and his style. He does what he does on a different plane than people who are caught up in the trappings of gross out humor, or foul-language humor, or sexist humor. When it comes to comedy, his wit is as strong as Dennis Miller's, but he chooses to take a Mojave Desert 4th of July dry sense of humor approach as opposed to Dennis Miller's sarcastic and caustic approach.
Then, now for the regular movie fans, people that never really appreciated Robert Altman nor A Prairie Home Companion. Well, I think the best way to put this is, if you do not find yourself in one of first two groups, you are probably going to find this film a bit on the dull side. Certainly, it is nostalgic, it has some gem performances notably Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play singing sisters who get along well and loved their mother, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly playing a couple of singing cowboys who drive the show's director crazy by singing totally inappropriate songs and with a bit of an old-married couple tension between them; and Tommy Lee Jones gives a stoic performance as the company Axeman come to kick everyone out and shut the place down. On the other hand, you have Kevin Kline who just about drove me nuts.
And that listerners is the movieEVERYday report from KMOV-radio live. This is Scooter Thompson signing off hopefully not into the wild blue yonder.
___________Chick Pea Soups, eat 'em till your grown! 7 different flavors, so do your family a favor, and buy Chick Pea Soups--soups of the mid-east, brought to the prairies of the mid-west.
Ok, and now back to our program. So, first, let's dispatch those pesky Robert Altman fans. Did you see Short Cuts? Did you see his segment of Aria—still one of only two films I've ever walked out on? Well enough said people. Get off your high horse. Still, he does a fine, fine job of directing A Prairie Home Companion. I have no qualms with the directing at all.
Cinematography, set design, lighting, directing, casting, all aspects of a director's job he has executed faithfully. He brings to the film all the right mood and introspection for the interior dialogues that follow. He knows what's going on, and he drives the Zamboni® just right. [Robert Altman fans, may now switch to a different radio station and come back in a few minutes.]
"Robert Altman…drives the Zamboni® just right."
Now for the APHC and GK fans. Hmm, for the life of me, I cannot think of any reason you're not going to love this film. First, it's fun seeing Garrison Keillor playing himself. After all he created APHC, and he wrote the screenplay for the film. So, if you don't like it, one has to wonder why not? Isn't this what you like? Don't you like a folksy, simple, heartland approach to life? Here's a joke from the film, "There are two penguins. One says to the other, 'You look like you're wearing a tuxedo.' The other replies, 'What makes you think I'm not?' The vast majority of people not only don't think that joke is funny, they might just flip their car on an icy road trying to figure out why anyone would think it's funny. And that is Garrison Keillor and his style. He does what he does on a different plane than people who are caught up in the trappings of gross out humor, or foul-language humor, or sexist humor. When it comes to comedy, his wit is as strong as Dennis Miller's, but he chooses to take a Mojave Desert 4th of July dry sense of humor approach as opposed to Dennis Miller's sarcastic and caustic approach.
So, with a script written by Keillor which tells the tale of the last broadcast of the APHC from St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre slated to be demolished the next day and replaced by a parking lot; with the original APHC sound effects guy and band, and all the big name celebrities you could ask for from Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep to Kevin Kline and Tommy Lee Jones to Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly to Lindsay Lohan, Maya Rudolph, and Virgina Madsen; with old songs and comedy routines making the true APHC variety show experience; with Guy Noir realized as a living breathing member of the theatre as chief of security; and with an It's a Wonderful Life-like sort of twist; what is there not to love if you are a fan of Garrison Keillor and APHC? The only thing I could think of not for you to love was maybe the fact that it ended. [Now, please, APHC fans, change to another radio station for a few minutes, and then return.]
"… with a script written by Keillor… big name celebrities…Guy Noir…and with an It's a Wonderful Life like sort of twist; what is there not to love…?"
Then, now for the regular movie fans, people that never really appreciated Robert Altman nor A Prairie Home Companion. Well, I think the best way to put this is, if you do not find yourself in one of first two groups, you are probably going to find this film a bit on the dull side. Certainly, it is nostalgic, it has some gem performances notably Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play singing sisters who get along well and loved their mother, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly playing a couple of singing cowboys who drive the show's director crazy by singing totally inappropriate songs and with a bit of an old-married couple tension between them; and Tommy Lee Jones gives a stoic performance as the company Axeman come to kick everyone out and shut the place down. On the other hand, you have Kevin Kline who just about drove me nuts.
Take his and Steve Martin's recent roles in the Pink Panther remake and smash them into one character. Now you have his version of Guy Noir—a former P.I. who cannot seem to navigate around a room without tripping over a trashcan. You have Garrison Keillor who, while brilliant on radio, has some trouble acting in three dimensions. He is not an engaging on-screen presence. Then you have the pace of the film. It was hand-cranked like old-fashioned ice cream. The chief difference, at the end of the hour of cranking, you have delicious, homemade peppermint ice cream. At the end of nearly two hours of AHPC you get a very disappointing ending that resolves little and just leaves you wondering what other people see in this. I was reminded of the penguin joke when I thought about the movie as a whole. Why do some people love this so much? And I know they do, but I just don't see it myself. I respect other people's right to like it, and I wish them well. I however, can spend no more time pondering this as I have a long drive ahead of me and do not wish to end up like Virginia Madsen's character—smashed into a tree along side the road.
"…dull…nostalgic…disappointing…"
And that listerners is the movieEVERYday report from KMOV-radio live. This is Scooter Thompson signing off hopefully not into the wild blue yonder.
*a fictional radio station created for the purpose of this review—sorry, there is a KMED and a KMOO in real life already but there is no KMOV
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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A Prairie Home Companion [DVD](2006) DVD
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Review-lite [150-word cap]
A great film for fans of director Robert Altman and Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, but one that's dull, nostalgic, and disappointing for everyone else. There were some great performances from Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, and Tommy Lee Jones, juxtaposed with a lack of on-screen presence by Garrison Keillor himself and an bumbling portrayal of Guy Noir by Kevin Kline. The pace of the film was hand-cranked like old-fashioned ice cream. The chief difference, at the end of the hour of cranking, you have delicious, homemade peppermint ice cream. At the end of two hours of APHC you get a disappointing ending that resolves little and leaves you wondering what other people see in this. I can spend no more time pondering this as I have a long drive ahead and do not wish to end up like Virginia Madsen's character—smashed into a tree.
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