A True Faux Hollywood Story

Director Christopher (Best in Show, A Might Wind) Guest’s latest, For Your Consideration, is a biting and knowing parody focusing on the making of the (film within the) film Home for Purim, a drama set in the mid-1940s American South – and the soul-stripping buzz that sends its cast members into a would-be career-rejuvenating frenzy after one of the actors hears her name being tossed around as a likely Oscar nominee.

As someone who isn’t entirely familiar with Guest’s oeuvre, I will keep this simple: I enjoyed For Your Consideration, very much, but I can see why some people might not.

Guest and his troupe – which includes co-writer Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, and the magnificent Catherine O'Hara – are known for diving into the pool safeguarded by nothing but armfuls of dedication and talent.

This no-holds-barred approach ensures that the film will bring the funny, but also that Joe and Jane Doe from around the corner might be puzzled by the fascination with dog shows, folk singers, or in the case of this film, the behind-the-scenes wackiness that takes over Hollywood come awards season.

When O’Hara’s Marilyn Hack, a veteran actress, hears that her turn in Home Purim is being considered for Oscar gold, it sends her looking, solemnly, of course, for the adoration of her peers and of an industry that has long forgotten about her.

And when this buzz reaches her co-stars Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), an actor now know for “playing” a wiener in TV commercials, and reluctant up-and-comer Callie Webb (Posey), it soon becomes evident that this little indie that could shall become something else entirely: a ravenous beast chasing after its own tale.

I think that’s what Guest seems to be saying – that Hollywood is a land where your dreams can render you prime for the plucking, or, in this case, the mocking.

I just wish he had been able to get his point across in a more inclusive way. I counted six people walking out of the movie theater, two in the first 10 minutes, which was too bad because they missed Jane Lynch and Fred Willard’s mordant amalgam of TV’s entertainment news show hosts.

A shame, really, because I know Guest and Co. didn't want their audience to consider that option.

My Rating **1/2

Photo: Warner Independent Pictures.