Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"Which one of these dogs would you want to have as your wide receiver on your football team?"

2000 PG-13 / Mockumentary Directed by: Christopher Guest Starring: Parker Posey, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy

Tagline

Some pets deserve a little more respect than others.

Summary Capsule

Make up your own "dog gone good" crappy pun here.

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DVD

Clare's Rating: I like dogs, but I LOVE dog people.
Clare's Review: I watch dog shows on TV. I find them highly entertaining. Of course, I sat for an hour and a half yesterday and watched a public access presentation about how Jim Morrison and the Beatles were possessed by evil spirits and controlled by Satan to take over the world with Eastern philosophical thought. That ranks right up there as "highly entertaining" to me as well. So take my enjoyment of dog shows for what it's worth.

I've always wondered about the people behind the dogs at these shows. Who are they? What's it like back stage at these events? How crazy could these people possibly be? This movie provides all the answers I've been looking for.

"And yes, the owners of each competing dog do look strangely like their pets. Just like real life."

Best in Show is a mockumentary written and directed by legendary mockumentary genius Christopher Guest who is responsible for unleashing This Is Spinal Tap on the world back in the mid-1980's. As though that movie weren't enough, he's gone on to make a bevy of other films none of which have been as well received or held up to enduring cult status. However, Best in Show is hilarious. It's a character study more than a story, but the characters are so perfectly drawn and portrayed that the lack of discernible plot hardly matters.

This movie isn't bust-a-gut funny, but it had me smiling the whole way through and I really loved how committed all the actors were to making their characters as funny but realistic as possible. Of particular appeal to me were Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as the high strung, braces wearing, NYC couple, obsessed with clothing catalogues and Starbucks who determine how well their marriage is going by how their dog behaves. Christopher Guest is also extremely entertaining as Harlan Pepper, the laid back Georgian blood hound owner. And yes, the owners of each competing dog do look strangely like their pets. Just like real life.

Definitely a worth while trip to the video store.

Kyle's Rating: I’ve got a fever! And the prescription! Is more pug love! As in pug hugs! Not in any other sense of the word!
Kyle's Review: An excellent effect of dark abstract humor is that you have to pay close attention to it so you can catch all the nuances. Getting the joke means having to follow each step so you can understand the ultimate payoff, and being able to read between the lines sometimes to grasp the true (and usually this is the darkly humorous stuff) meaning behind words and actions.

"two left feet! a shady past! no money! and many more quirky quirks!"

Best in Show is side-splittingly funny but not in ways you may be used to. Like Christopher Guest’s other cinematic output the emphasis here is on the insane and unpredictable intricacies of human nature. A bunch of richly diverse (two left feet! a shady past! no money! and many more quirky quirks!) and incredibly wacky people get thrown together at a dog show and as they enter each other’s orbits funny is born through the fantastic and vaguely realistic shenanigans that occur. Close to real life, but slightly skewed and so much more satisfying. And in addition to that, Best in Show has dogs and Ed Begley, Jr. as well! You can’t go wrong with this movie!

Stud and Dud Um... is this dirty redneck porn or something? Fru-fru dogs must DIE!

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• One of the Shih Tzus belonging to Scott and Stefan is named Tyrone. Tyrone is also the first name of the six-fingered Count Rugen, the character Christopher Guest played in The Princess Bride.
• The Dog Show is supposed to take place in Philadelphia, yet they show a night helicopter shot of Mellon Arena (formerly known as the Civic Center) in downtown Pittsburgh.
• Gerry and Cookie Fleck's license plate reads "WINKY."
• The shot of the arena where the dog show is taking place is actually stock footage from the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Sudden Death

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

"The filmmakers wish to thank the dog owners, handlers, veterinarians and experts who shared with us their enthusiasm and unselfishly dedicated their time and their energy in this film." Blah.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Parker Posey actually got real braces for her character to wear.

When the owner of the poodle playing Rhapsody in White was presented with this movie, she didn't read the full script. When she realized that her dog would not be winning 'Best in Show' at the end of the movie, she quickly pulled the dog out of production. The crew had to get a dog that looked similar to the original dog, and spray paint its fur so it looked exactly the same.

Groovy Quotes

Gerry Fleck: Don't water the plants, they're plastic!

Buck Laughlin: Excuse me if this off the subject a little bit, but just take a guess at how much I can bench press. Come on, what do you think? Take a guess. 315 pounds, maxing out at 400!

Buck Laughlin: Now tell me, which one of these dogs would you want to have as your wide receiver on your football team?

Hamilton Swan: Honey, I'm thinking of switching to the mock turtleneck?
Meg Swan: Is that not breathing?
Hamilton Swan: Well, it's breathing now, but it'll be hot down there. I could go with the lambswool, but then again, you'll see a lot of khaki down there and this merlot looks good with the gray.

Sherri Ann Cabot: Leslie and I have an amazing relationship and it's very physical, he still pushes all my buttons. People say 'oh but he's so much older than you' and you know what, I'm the one having to push him away. We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about.

Max Berman: ...but you see, you think they drop like rocks, they don't. He hit a gargoyle on the way down and this guy gets his head caught in the gargoyle's mouth. The head pops off like a grape. The body continues to spin down like a whirl-a-gig. When they hit, everything pops out. It's like a piñata The intestines, like they're spring-loaded, pop out.

Hamilton Swan: Don't look at the fat ass losers or freaks, look at me!

Buck Laughlin: I went to one of those obedience places once... it was all going well until they spilled hot candle wax on my private parts.

Stefan Vanderhoof: If you're ever buying a shampoo sink go right to the Dutch. The French know nothing about shampooing.

DVD Review

Not a whole lot to write home about, but not a total waste of time either. To be honest I don't remember there being much more than a trailer and some cast bios. Yawn.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• This Is Spinal Tap
• Waiting For Guffman
• The Princess Bride