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For Your Consideration


From the people who brought us Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind, comes For Your Consideration, an extremely smart and deliciously funny satire that skewers Hollywood and more specifically, "the business of show business."

The razor-sharp screenplay by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy centers on the production of a movie called "Home for Purim", the story of a family gathering for this Jewish Holiday during WWII who are rocked by the arrival of the daughter with her lesbian lover. The film stars Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara), an actress who burst onto the Hollywood scene with a smash hit movie in 1989 and then disappeared; and Victor Alan Miller (Harry Shearer), an actor who has spent the majority of his career playing a hot dog in a series of TV commercials, but as filming of the movie-within-a-movie progresses, the film starts to generate Oscar buzz for Marilyn and that's where the fun begins.

To reveal any more plot would be criminal,but suffice it to say that Guest and Levy have turned a jaundiced eye on Hollywood and given us a deft look into the inner workings of Hollywood and the silliness and unpredictability that often materializes in that mad pursuit of box office receipts and award recognition.

O'Hara turns in the performance of her career as Marilyn Hack and yes, the performance is Oscar-worthy as does Harry Shearer, taking his most significant role in the Guest company since SPINAL TAP and making Victor sweet and vulnerable. Director Guest also doubles as the director of the film and Levy is very amusing as Victor's agent. Laughs are also provided by Parker Posey as Callie Webb, the self-absorbed actress playing Marilyn and Victor's movie daughter, Jennifer Coolidge as the film's clueless producer, and Fred Williard and Jane Lynch as a pair of reporters from an "Entertainment Tonight" sort of show. For those fascinated with the inner workings of Hollywood, this film is a must and a comedic joy from start to finish.