AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

GusF A keenly observed parody of the wonderful and wacky world of competitive dog showing, this is an absolutely hilarious mockumentary. It has a razor sharp script by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, though I understand that there was quite a bit of improvisation, and the former directs with great style and flair. The film is full to the brim with bizarre, outrageous and over the top characters but I sometimes got the impression that I would meet people like those on display here if I have ever entered my beloved Cocker Spaniel Freddie at a major dog show such as Crufts! It is a great exploration of a very small, insular world. The film benefits from a brilliant cast of comedic veterans such as Guest, Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley, Jr. and Larry Miller. I have to give special mention, however, to Fred Willard who is just on another level of complete and total hilarity as the dog show's co-host Buck Laughlin, who has a serious case of verbal diarrhoea. He devotes much of his energy to insulting the judges and handlers, asking idiotic questions about dogs and their capabilities, telling lewd stories and making tortured baseball analogies. Jim Paddock is a fantastic straight man to Willard as the humourless, straight-laced canine expert Trevor Beckwith, who becomes increasingly exasperated as he is forced to endure more and more of Laughlin's inane prattle.

Jacob Rosen There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but it's the finely observed character studies that make this gentle mockumentary by Christopher Guest so enjoyable. Guest, along with co-writer Eugene Levy, populates the world of dog shows with identifiable people and while they often draw caricatures (particularly a married couple, played by Michael Hitchcock and Parker Posey, who project their fears, hostilities and parenting efforts upon their Weimariner; and Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins as an over-the-top gay couple), the ensemble has such affection for the characters you're happy to accept them for who they are. This is because the improvisational aspect of the dialog makes everyone seem real; you feel as if you know and sympathize with them as they struggle to succeed, as in the case of Levy and the sublime Catherine O'Hara, playing a couple who find they can't afford a hotel room and are put up in a utility closet by the well-meaning hotel manager (wonderfully played by Ed Begley, Jr.). Even those meant to be identified as "villians" (dog handler Jane Lynch and owner Jennifer Coolidge) understand their characters so well it's impossible not to like them. The film is immensely entertaining and seems to fly by, so much so that it belies its reasonable ninety minute run time.

hall895 It's another Christopher Guest mockumentary and with a cast full of certified comic geniuses it's hard to see how Guest could go wrong. Look at who Guest has at his disposal: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Fred Willard. Is that enough? No? OK, let's toss in Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch and Ed Begley, Jr. And of course there's also Guest himself as a key part of the ensemble. These are hilariously funny people. Which makes the fact that this is not a hilariously funny movie a little puzzling. Best in Show is funny but not outrageously so. A funny idea, certainly a funny cast, but not a consistently funny movie. There are a few really funny moments. But the movie ends up producing more wry smiles than big laughs. It leaves you wanting more.The movie takes place in the rather bizarre dog show world. We focus on five dogs, and their inevitably strange owners, as they make the trek to and ultimately compete in the big dog show in Philadelphia. There's a guy who literally has two left feet and whose wife apparently has slept with every man on the planet. There's a campy gay couple and a neurotic yuppie couple. A trophy wife, married to an oblivious elderly man, and her lesbian dog handler. And an aspiring ventriloquist. All in all a weird bunch. At times perhaps a little too weird for the movie's good. A lot of strange things happen to these strange people. Some of these things are funny but there are a bunch of gags and jokes which fall flat. The movie perks up a bit when we finally get to the dog show itself. That is thanks largely to the presence of Willard who plays perhaps the world's worst television color commentator. He's clearly the funniest thing this movie has going for it. All the other performers do reasonably well but there are times where things just seem a bit off. Maybe the story doesn't quite work, maybe the characters aren't really developed properly. With all these great comic stars you expect hilarity and you don't really get that. The stars do the best they can with the material but you feel that the material let them down a bit. They all have their moments. Posey in particular does really well. And even in a film chock-full of performers with such notable reputations there's room for some lesser-known actors, such as Michael Hitchcock and John Michael Higgins, to turn in good work as well. There's just the sense that director Guest didn't quite pull it all together. This is a movie with such a great cast. That cast could have been put to a little bit better use. Best in Show had such great promise. But just as only one dog can win the trophy not every film is destined for greatness. This film falls a little bit short.

UnknownRealmsDotNet Dog shows -- one of the lamest and most pointless events that I can think of. Best in Show proves I'm not the only one to think so. With its zany, well-written characters, BiS makes watching snobbish dogs strutting around a hoot. All throughout watching this I felt the timing to the jokes was so perfect, the conversations were so dry and funny, that BiS reminded me of Spinal Tap. Low and behold this is not only written by Christopher Guest (the writer of Spinal Tap), but directed by him as well. And while there really is no story here, the jokes and timing are so spot on that this is too fun not to enjoy, thanks to Guest's writing and the ensemble casts' hilarious performances. Whether you are a dog fan our not, this is one dog show you can go nuts about. Very funny!