Best in Show review! (long)
05-25-01 | 10:14 AM
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From: Aurora, CO
Best in Show (2000)
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0218839
This is a comedy about Dog Shows and the odd people who enter their competitions. It's billed as a fake documentary (mockumentary), but drops that format and merges into a regular movie after 20 minutes or so. The first character introductions are almost unbearable to watch, but this comedy picks up steam shortly afterward. In fact, at first I thought the director was the same one who did Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999, http://us.imdb.com/Title?0157503) since both movies looked identical and both have Will Sasso (from MadTV) as a retarded guy. But thankfully, Will fades into oblivion and doesn't attend this dog show.
Best in Show is a character comedy with some running gags (Cookie's sexual history), one-liner delivery (Buck's commentary), situational (broom closet hotel room), gutter humor (leg-humping), etc. However the one-liners are truly funny ("he's going after her like she's made out of ham!"), most of the gags aren't over the top and other character's reaction to situations made it appealing to me. I actually got up to hit Eject on my DVD player during the first few minutes of the movie but was laughing hysterically at the middle and end. Overall, I'd rate it 8/10 and add that it does have some replay value and the commentary is pretty good.
Since Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) is shown on movie channels like HBO/Starz very frequently and probably most of you have seen at least part of it, I'd like to compare both movies as Fake Documentary, express what I thought ruined DDG, and explain how Best in Show succeeded.
DDG's documentary crew ruined the flick. All the characters spent more time interacting with the camera crew rather than each other and the handheld, constantly moving angles, trying to peek into Amber's mom hospital room and hear what was going on, the crew asking questions... a bit over the top for me. If you're making a movie, just film it and shove that documentary viewpoint into the trash.
Best in Show does precisely that - you see a documentary perspective for an opening, then regular film after that. Chars interact with each other, the doc crew doesn't open their mouth, or otherwise ruin this film.
DDG was in your face humor. Will Sasso was funny for like 10 minutes, then horribly annoying immediately afterward. Stuff like Amber's mom's beer can melting onto her hand - yes she's trailer trash, I got the joke already. Yes, Will Sasso is retarded, I got that joke too. Becky Ann is a self-righteous bitch, got it. Please stop shoving it farther into my face. Subtlety was not DDG's strong point.
Best in Show's lesbian relationship was subtle, and funny. The gay man waltzing out with his dog, attracting more attention to himself than the puppy. Their reaction when two lesbians started kissing, funny. This movie's humor wasn't over the top, and entertained me better.
In conclusion, this movie was worth twenty bucks. I bought from Amazon who had free shipping at the time (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005ALS0). You get the movie, a commentary that's ok, deleted scenes and a dog owner documentary, cast and crew info. If you liked Spinal Tap or Waiting for Guffman, or enjoy the Caddyshack-type of humor you should probably just buy it. And don't be fooled by the first 15-20 minutes of the movie, it gets much, much better immediately after the cast arrives at the hotel and dog show.
PS: When I discuss the documentary crew, yes I know it wasn't a *real* documentary. But having actors playing cameramen, constantly disrupting the feel of a movie is just bad IMHO. Similar to if Stephen King wrote "you're reading a book!" every third paragraph in his novels. When watching a movie, I enjoy being immersed in its environment and plot development, rather than being interrupted and pulled back out of my movie every scene.
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0218839
This is a comedy about Dog Shows and the odd people who enter their competitions. It's billed as a fake documentary (mockumentary), but drops that format and merges into a regular movie after 20 minutes or so. The first character introductions are almost unbearable to watch, but this comedy picks up steam shortly afterward. In fact, at first I thought the director was the same one who did Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999, http://us.imdb.com/Title?0157503) since both movies looked identical and both have Will Sasso (from MadTV) as a retarded guy. But thankfully, Will fades into oblivion and doesn't attend this dog show.
Best in Show is a character comedy with some running gags (Cookie's sexual history), one-liner delivery (Buck's commentary), situational (broom closet hotel room), gutter humor (leg-humping), etc. However the one-liners are truly funny ("he's going after her like she's made out of ham!"), most of the gags aren't over the top and other character's reaction to situations made it appealing to me. I actually got up to hit Eject on my DVD player during the first few minutes of the movie but was laughing hysterically at the middle and end. Overall, I'd rate it 8/10 and add that it does have some replay value and the commentary is pretty good.
Since Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) is shown on movie channels like HBO/Starz very frequently and probably most of you have seen at least part of it, I'd like to compare both movies as Fake Documentary, express what I thought ruined DDG, and explain how Best in Show succeeded.
DDG's documentary crew ruined the flick. All the characters spent more time interacting with the camera crew rather than each other and the handheld, constantly moving angles, trying to peek into Amber's mom hospital room and hear what was going on, the crew asking questions... a bit over the top for me. If you're making a movie, just film it and shove that documentary viewpoint into the trash.
Best in Show does precisely that - you see a documentary perspective for an opening, then regular film after that. Chars interact with each other, the doc crew doesn't open their mouth, or otherwise ruin this film.
DDG was in your face humor. Will Sasso was funny for like 10 minutes, then horribly annoying immediately afterward. Stuff like Amber's mom's beer can melting onto her hand - yes she's trailer trash, I got the joke already. Yes, Will Sasso is retarded, I got that joke too. Becky Ann is a self-righteous bitch, got it. Please stop shoving it farther into my face. Subtlety was not DDG's strong point.
Best in Show's lesbian relationship was subtle, and funny. The gay man waltzing out with his dog, attracting more attention to himself than the puppy. Their reaction when two lesbians started kissing, funny. This movie's humor wasn't over the top, and entertained me better.
In conclusion, this movie was worth twenty bucks. I bought from Amazon who had free shipping at the time (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005ALS0). You get the movie, a commentary that's ok, deleted scenes and a dog owner documentary, cast and crew info. If you liked Spinal Tap or Waiting for Guffman, or enjoy the Caddyshack-type of humor you should probably just buy it. And don't be fooled by the first 15-20 minutes of the movie, it gets much, much better immediately after the cast arrives at the hotel and dog show.
PS: When I discuss the documentary crew, yes I know it wasn't a *real* documentary. But having actors playing cameramen, constantly disrupting the feel of a movie is just bad IMHO. Similar to if Stephen King wrote "you're reading a book!" every third paragraph in his novels. When watching a movie, I enjoy being immersed in its environment and plot development, rather than being interrupted and pulled back out of my movie every scene.
05-28-01 | 08:12 PM
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From: Brooklyn, NY
I'm with homeslice. I can't say enough good things about this movie. If you like quirky humor at all, or if you're a dog owner, you'll love this movie. It was the first film I've seen in years in which I spent much of the 2 hours laughing out loud.
