A Mighty Wind
November 2003 Reviewed by: Anthony Di Marco Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Even if you don’t get the jokes in a Christopher Guest comedy, you have to appreciate the sheer skill that sits both in front of and behind the camera -- especially when you consider that most of the acting is improvised and not simply regurgitated from a script. Each actor invents his character’s traits and dialogue by feeding off other characters within a scene. This not only makes the situations feel fresh, but also generates nicely layered performances. All the ensemble receives are general outlines and a basic description of each scene. Guest and his cohorts have taken this improvisational approach in every film they have done together, and it works! The characterizations are pitch perfect and the observations that each actor makes concerning human nature and commercialism can be quite profound. This time the ensemble takes on the music industry with a story of ‘60s folk music legends that reunite for one performance at New York's Town Hall.

The interview with Amber Cole and Wally Fenton of the Zipken Group is one of the funniest bits in the film. Actors Larry Miller and Jennifer Coolidge give an honest and hilariously insightful spin on what marketing and public relations are all about. We also get to see Guest and Eugene Levy comment on how big business has ruined the entertainment industry. The Folksmen trio may be pathetic one-hit wonders, but at least they have not sold their souls to Terry and Laurie Bohner (Jane Lynch and Michael Higgins) and WINC (Witches In Nature’s Colors).

At the center of this dysfunctional clutch of musicians sit two exceptionally dysfunctional musicians. Mitch Cohen (Levy) and Mickey Crabbe (Catherine O'Hara) made history by punctuating their song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," with, you guessed it, a kiss. The only problem is that the unrequited love between the two has caused Mitch to become unresponsive and suicidal. This jeopardizes the tribute concert that anal-retentive attorney Jonathan Steinbloom has planned in his deceased father’s honor.

Like in his other films, Guest doesn’t waste much time with visual embellishments. The camera is there to showcase the talent in front of it, not upstage them. The video quality fluctuates from colorful but soft to sharp and three-dimensional. An interview with recording engineer Steve Lang looks as if it was shot in high-definition video, while the majority of the film suffers from apparent MPEG noise. Audio quality also varies from crisp and clear to serviceable. Taken in the context of a documentary film, these flaws could be interpreted as intentional. Measured against those standards the dialogue was always clear and intelligible, while the live music in the film had a very natural sound.

The extras on this disc are, in some cases, funnier than the film. The feature-length commentary with Guest and Levy gives insight into their thought process, and shows a genuine affection and respect for their castmates as well. Deleted scenes and unedited performances by the bands round out a pleasing, if not overly satisfying, collection of extras. Just don’t miss the guitar-string link in the special-feature section!

You have to get the jokes in A Mighty Wind to enjoy fully the observations of its cast. Like in Guest’s other efforts, I understood the human end of the satire more than the jabs made against the industry. I also felt that Levy’s vocal cadence was a bit too thick to be convincing. However, I never felt bored or cheated by the story or the performances. And the "dressing," not the icing, as Jerry Palter would say, is that A Mighty Wind just gets better with each sitting.

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