For Your Consideration

New from The Movie Snob

For Your Consideration (D). I have enjoyed the last three movies directed by Christopher Guest -- A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, and most especially Waiting for Guffman. Why, then, did this one leave me sad and bitter? It shouldn't have; the plot is actually quite reminiscent of Waiting for Guffman. In Guffman, a community theater in small-town Missouri is rehearsing a musical in honor of the town's 200th anniversay. They freak out when they get news that a New York reviewer is coming to see their production. Hilarity ensues. In For Your Consideration, a little independent movie called "Home for Purim" is getting made by a cast of has-beens and never-weres. They freak out when Oscar buzz unexpectedly develops around their little movie. Hilarity never shows up. Even more than usual, Guest seems to have it in for his characters, especially the pitiful Marilyn Hack, played by Catherine O'Hara. In Guffman, the characters were people with day jobs who acted as a hobby, so it didn't seem so mean for Guest to make them such terrible performers. In Consideration, however, the characters are supposedly professional actors, which is maybe why it seems so much crueler to mock the mismatch between their pretensions and their lack of talent. Even the reliable Fred Willard can't save this turkey. Consider taking your money elsewhere.