Best in Show Reviews

But I loved this movie. It's not that I know that much about the world of dog shows--although I did go to a cat show once and found it truly bizarre. The characters in Christopher Guest's "mockumentary" range from the quirky to the truly outlandish, but they're all very recognizable types, played to perfection by a cast of SCTV, SNL and indie vets.

It's nice to see such talented comedians as Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Guest himself in a vehicle worthy of their talents. Fred Ward is perfection as the know-nothing TV commentator. And as for Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins and Jennifer Coolidge, well, where have they been hiding? (Don't say the closet, PUH-LEEZE!) This is not outrageous, gross-out humor. But for those who like something a little more understated, "Best in Show" is hard to beat.

The additional 15 minutes of out-takes in the VHS and DVD formats provide a little added value, but actually serve as proof positive that the theatrical version movie was very well edited. The extra scenes all have their moments, but they also seem to fall flat in some ways. (We really don't need another scene with Harlan Pepper doing his ventriloquist act.) The excised scenes demonstrate that less is indeed more.

Five stars and a blue ribbon.

Rating: 4 - SHAGGY DOGUMENTARY FARCE ALL TOO TRUE
Sly humor in another vein is finely tuned in Christopher ("This Is Spinal Tap" and "Waiting for Guffman") Guest's "BEST IN SHOW." Writer-director Guest and his fearless ensemble players zero in on the animals and humans who dwell in the strange subculture of competitive dog shows. Almost documentary -- or should I say "dogumentary"? -- in style, this largely improvised, sustained farce follows a clique of dog owners as they enter their animals in a national competition. You may not laugh out loud, but you will certainly smile and possibly even chortle at the eccentric dog owners. There's Parker Posey and Mike Hitchcock, a tightly-wound, pretentious yuppie couple who think they've traumatized their Weimeraner when they had sex in front of him. Co-writer Eugene Levy is a Terrier owner and amazingly tolerant husband to Catherine O'Hara and her prodigious sleep-around past. Guest is a loquacious, ventriloquist-aspiring and literally red-necked owner of a sardonically-faced Bloodhound. Fred Willard steals the show as a naive -- and painfully inappropriate -- ad-libbing announcer. This is a sweet movie that holds an affectionate mirror to absurd human behavior in a ridiculous setting. Animal lovers rest assured, there are no jokes at any dog's expense. The disc includes a witty commentary by Guest and Levy and a bunch of deletes scenes. Recommended.

Rating: 4 - Some witty actors and actresses
I thought this movie was bizarre and cute! The owners of these show dogs, acted a lot like them. For instance, Parker's character, and her husband, were a rich couple from somewhere, and they had this dog, who watched them a lot. They also made their dog walk on the treadmill.
The left foot guy, played by Eugene Levy, was very funny and a great actor. He eventually had to show his dog, because his wife played by Catherine O'Hara, another great actress, fell and broke her ankle. Great acting there!
Christopher Guest, the author and actor in this movie, and all the other movies, was a funny southern guy, who has this hunting dog. He put this movie together perfectly!
By the way, Jennifer Coolidge is in this movie (Legally Blonde, Paulette). She plays this lady who marries this rich man, and owns a Poodle. She has a dog handler, who shows the poodle in the shows, and they win best dog, like every time, except this one.
I haven't seen the other movies that these good friends and actors play in, like Waiting for Guffman & a Mighty Wind, etc.
You just have to watch the movie to figure it all out!
*See it to believe it.

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Best in Show