When you do something often enough, a certain routine arises and you start to do more and more without thinking about it. It happens with the work you do, but I also notice that as a blogger. However, this routine can be dangerous if you do not do enough to keep yourself sharp and set goals and to come up with challenges for yourself. Director Christopher Guest has already made several films in his career (including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, For Your Consideration and Mascots) in which he works with an (almost) permanent group of actors, chooses a certain subculture and films mainly by means of improvisation. Last year I really enjoyed myself with Best in Show, but I found his Netflix film Mascots disappointing. Still, I wanted to see more of his work and I decided to watch A Mighty Wind, mainly because reviewer Leonard Maltin recommended it during several of his podcasts. And even though A Mighty Wind has its funny moments, I’m kind of done with the concept after having watched this.
In this mockumentary Guest dives into the world of “folk singers”. After the death of a concert promoter, a benefit concert will be held in which all three major folk bands from the 1960s, The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers and Mitch & Mickey come together again. They arent all looking forward to performing and during the film several members talk about their success, but also the setbacks they have had to endure.
Maybe it was because I didn’t like the music, maybe because I have seen too many of these films within a year but this felt too much of the same (also because many of the same actors play in it). The only person that really made me laugh is Fred Willard, who also succeeds in creating a bizarre character and seems to do so effortlessly. If you are a fan of Guest’s work, there is plenty to enjoy, but I miss the variation and I was a little disappointed after seeing A Mighty Wind.
