For Your Consideration
More of a benign satire than a “mockumentary”, but a superb cast enacting such blithely and somehow loveably clueless characters made this a very pleasant diversion, even if the vapid, insular nature of “Hollywood” has been done to death (and much better) in other films. Altman’s THE PLAYER comes to mind especially, and there’s something more overtly Altmanesque here than usual for Guest, with his cast of characters entwining and tripping over each other. Highlighted by arguably O’Hara’s finest hour (her actually getting an Oscar nomination would have been a delicious irony for the Academy to consider), contrasted with Shearer’s on-a-knife-edge-of-tragedy portrait of bemused desperation. I’m assuming Guest is basing HOME FOR PURIM on FAR FROM HEAVEN, but I’m not sure PURIM is really believable as a genuine production circa 2006 which does hurt credibility from time to time.
Mini Review: More of a benign satire than a “mockumentary”, but a superb cast enacting such blithely and somehow loveably clueless characters made this a very pleasant diversion, even if the vapid, insular nature of “Hollywood” has been done to death (and much better) in other films. Altman’s THE PLAYER comes to mind especially, and there’s something more overtly Altmanesque here than usual for Guest, with his cast of characters entwining and tripping over each other. Highlighted by arguably O’Hara’s finest hour (her actually getting an Oscar nomination would have been a delicious irony for the Academy to consider), contrasted with Shearer’s on-a-knife-edge-of-tragedy portrait of bemused desperation. I’m assuming Guest is basing HOME FOR PURIM on FAR FROM HEAVEN, but I’m not sure PURIM is really believable as a genuine production circa 2006 which does hurt credibility from time to time.