Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Best Belly Laughs for 'Best in Show'
"Best in Show" is a funny movie. It's an over-the-top satire on a dog show. Easy target, you say? O.K., but it's not about the dogs. It's the characters who compete in the event, and the milieu has lots of comic possibilities. Listen closely: It's totally overplayed and mostly silly. But you can't argue with belly laughs. I believe it was not entirely scripted, and occasionally the improvisation is apparent. Co-written and directed by one Christopher Guest, who brought us "Waiting for Guffman," this movie is not just silly, it's also smart and insightful. Don't get me wrong, there's no message here -- I don't think. Although they say comedic acting is hard to do, you can't tell that here. You'll recognize the faces, though you won't know most of the names. Parker Posey plays a woman in doggie therapy with her husband. Ed Begley, Jr. is ever-patient and long-suffering as the hotel manager. Fred Willard plays the clueless show announcer to great effect. The humor is sometimes racy, but it's never gross-out. Dogs, friends of dogs and people who like to laugh, you're likely to like this movie.
Rating: - Good Show
Humor is just such a subjective thing. I almost hate to recommend comedies--even to people I know fairly well--because they almost always seem to get back to you with "what-was-so-funny-about-that" type comments. It works both ways, though, I still wonder at all the people who recommended SOMETHING ABOUT MARY to me as though it would be just my cup of comedy. I laughed maybe twice.But I loved this movie. It's not that I know that much about the world of dog shows--although I did go to a cat show once and found it truly bizarre. The characters in Christopher Guest's "mockumentary" range from the quirky to the truly outlandish, but they're all very recognizable types, played to perfection by a cast of SCTV, SNL and indie vets. It's nice to see such talented comedians as Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Guest himself in a vehicle worthy of their talents. Fred Ward is perfection as the know-nothing TV commentator. And as for Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins and Jennifer Coolidge, well, where have they been hiding? (Don't say the closet, PUH-LEEZE!) This is not outrageous, gross-out humor. But for those who like something a little more understated, "Best in Show" is hard to beat. The additional 15 minutes of out-takes in the VHS and DVD formats provide a little added value, but actually serve as proof positive that the theatrical version movie was very well edited. The extra scenes all have their moments, but they also seem to fall flat in some ways. (We really don't need another scene with Harlan Pepper doing his ventriloquist act.) The excised scenes demonstrate that less is indeed more. Five stars and a blue ribbon.
Rating: - Some witty actors and actresses
I thought this movie was bizarre and cute! The owners of these show dogs, acted a lot like them. For instance, Parker's character, and her husband, were a rich couple from somewhere, and they had this dog, who watched them a lot. They also made their dog walk on the treadmill.
The left foot guy, played by Eugene Levy, was very funny and a great actor. He eventually had to show his dog, because his wife played by Catherine O'Hara, another great actress, fell and broke her ankle. Great acting there!
Christopher Guest, the author and actor in this movie, and all the other movies, was a funny southern guy, who has this hunting dog. He put this movie together perfectly!
By the way, Jennifer Coolidge is in this movie (Legally Blonde, Paulette). She plays this lady who marries this rich man, and owns a Poodle. She has a dog handler, who shows the poodle in the shows, and they win best dog, like every time, except this one.
I haven't seen the other movies that these good friends and actors play in, like Waiting for Guffman & a Mighty Wind, etc.
You just have to watch the movie to figure it all out!
*See it to believe it.
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