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A little over 10 years after starring in the quintessential mockumentary, THIS IS SPINAL TAP, Christopher Guest stepped behind the camera as well for his own mock doc, which skewers the world of local theater. Like SPINAL TAP, the performers in this celebration of a small Mid-West town have an over-inflated sense of their own talents. Played by Guest, Corky St. Clair failed to make it on Broadway, but his big city experience brings some glamour to Blaine, Missouri.

St. Clair runs his little production like a serious production. Having starred in Corky’s previous stage renditions of BAREFOOT IN THE PARK and BACKDRAFT, Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard & Catherine O’Hara, BEST IN SHOW) audition knowing the have secured spots. Their outgoingness and over eagerness sometimes make others feel awkward. Dentist Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy, AMERICAN PIE) whose less than perfect singing still impresses Corky, landing him the coveted roll as the town’s founder Blaine Faban. Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey, SUPERMAN RETURNS) is the youngest cast member, who contemplates her future in the ice cream business at Diary Queen. Corky also recruits handsome mechanic Johnny Savage (Matt Keeslar, ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL). Narrating the play is the earnest Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette, SCREAM 2).

During the course of the movie, we will also hear the opinions of several other townsfolk. Councilman Steve Stark (Michael Hitchcock, A MIGHTY WIND) is Corky’s biggest supporter, who wishes that he could have tried out for the play, but he couldn’t make the audition and Corky does not reschedule for anybody. We get the strong feeling that he would love it if Corky didn’t have an unseen, out-of-town wife. Mayor Glenn Welsch is very proud of his town and looks at Corky as the guy who will put it on the map. Allan’s supportive wife (Linda Kash, CINDERELLA MAN) is surprised by her husband’s hidden talents. Blaine historian Phil Burgess (Don Lake, SUPER MARIO BROS.) tells us how Blaine once had visitors from outer space, inviting townsfolk up in the spaceship for a potluck. Former town play director Lloyd Miller (Bob Balaban, A MIGHTY WIND) is the only person in town who seems to see Corky’s lack of talent.

Like SPINAL TAP, GUFFMAN skewers fame, but unlike Rob Reiner’s film, Guest’s film pokes fun at small town America’s love affair with fame. Corky is revered not because of his own fame, but for his past proximity to fame, having been involved in Broadway in some distant fashion. Subtly, Guest doesn’t make the production a disaster, but amateurish in all the classic ways. His attention to detail is magnificent, capturing the sentimentality and low production values of local theater. But like SPINAL TAP, Guest doesn’t avoid including heart. While we have fun at the ineptitude of the performers, we come to like them and worry about what will happen when the Broadway critic Guffman shows up and actually sees their not-ready-for-off-off-Broadway production.

Using the perfectly constructed documentary form, Guffman adds authenticity to his mockumentary. All the performers play the material straight, never hamming it up for cheap laughs. Smart comedies like this one do not come along too often. There are laughs for everyone, ranging from gags to filmic in-jokes. You really have to be into film to get the MY DINNER WITH ANDRE reference, but it’s one of the funniest in the film. This film started Guest’s run with faux docs put only BEST IN SHOW comes close to the brilliance that he hit on with WAITING FOR GUFFMAN.

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