Waiting for Guffman . Tucson Weekly . 03-27-97

Waiting for Guffman

DIRECTED BY: Christopher Guest

REVIEWED: 03-27-97

A savage little piece of satire, very funny and equally cruel. Christopher Guest, the guitarist from Spinal Tap, directs and co-writes this fake documentary about a small-town theatrical production of Red, White and Blaine, a musical greeting card to the salient moments in the rise of a tiny town known for its production of stools. From the earnest and pathetic auditions of the townsfolk--including Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard, travel agents who do their own rendition of Midnight at the Oasis--to the final production, complete with paper maché spaceships and the dopiest choreography ever captured on film, Waiting for Guffman captures all the sad and funny nuances of being a nobody in the middle of no place. Guest plays Corky St. Clair, a frustrated refuge from off-off Broadway who collects My Dinner With Andre action figures and throws one mean little temper tantrum. If you hated your high school music teacher, this film will finally bring you revenge; the rest of the citizens of small-town America probably don't deserve such rough treatment, even when it's this funny.

--Stacey Richter

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Waiting for Guffman

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Waiting for Guffman
Waiting for Guffman

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Mallrats
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Rock 'n' Roll High School

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