Christopher Guest has tastefully satirized a sect of American culture once again. This time he and Eugene Levy take on Hollywood in their co-written film “For Your Consideration.” All you fans of “Spinal Tap,” “Best in Show” or Guest’s previous “mockumentaries,” be prepared for something different. Guest declared in 2005 he no longer found this genre funny. Though he left his filmmaking niche, his latest movie includes the same character driven, idiosyncratic humor found in his other works.
The plot revolves around a cast and crew on the set of “Home for Purim,” a movie-in-progress about a Jewish family suffering with the slow death of the mother and the homosexuality of the daughter. When Oscar-buzz circulates on the set, the idea of fame goes to the heads of the actors and crew.
Jennifer Coolidge plays the producer of this overtly cliché film within a film (Guest scripts always push clichés to the utmost ridiculousness) and again, delivers some of the more hilarious lines in the movie. She nonchalantly remarks to a colleague, “I hurt my back when I fell over the side of an escalator,” in her classic, vacant-minded glamazon voice.
All the actors play out their assigned clichés hilariously, but main character Marilyn Hack (Catherine O’Hara) goes beyond poking fun at image-consumed Hollywood actresses. The attempt to conceal her self-doubt with botoxed lips and a push-up bra only accentuates her lack of confidence. Her character goes through transformation as the plot progresses, unlike most characters in older Guest mockumentaries.
Guest, Levy and crew create scenes beyond silly, satirical
interactions in “For Your Consideration.” He includes moments
of honest tragedy, where the audience feels tension over whether to laugh or frown.
This adds a layer of maturity to the film either absent or dimmed in Guest’s former works. Overall, the actors and writing in the movie create cynically smart and tragic commentary on the culture of Hollywood entertainment.