Best in Show (2000)

Directed by: Christopher Guest
Format: DVD
DVD Features: commentary, added scenes, trailer, cast & crew
Starring: Eugene Levy, Cahterine O'Hara, Perker Posey, Christopher Guest
Trailer

***A character in this movie, Sherri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge), has received a Gummi Award nomination for Dumbest Blonde.***

If you're a dog lover, or just an animal enthusiast, you might have seen the Eukanuba or the Westminster dog shows. The preening, the prancing, the judging. They're the dog world's version of The Ms. America Pagaent. Believe it or not, there is a lot of money to be had in this business. Winners can charge sky-high fees for breeding, be hired for endorsements and the blue ribbon comes with a great deal of prestige. For some, this is the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the pinnacle achievement for handlers, owners and breeders alike. If you're not in the business, all of the special doggie diets and pet psychologists might seem a trifle silly. Christopher Guest took notice of all the silliness and fashioned a mock-umentary entitled Best In Show.

Best In Show follows the lives of five eccentric groups of contestants and their canines as they make their way through The Mayflower Dog Show. At home, contestants are interviewed about their backgrounds. Preparing for the big event are hotel staff, convention centers, judges and announcers. As the pressure mounts, and the big day is at hand, tempers flare, complications arise and the true characters of man and dog alike are revealed.

The key element of Best In Show is really the colorful cast of characters. The previous winners are at the Mayflower are the owner and handler of Rhapsody In White, a pristine white poodle. Sherri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge) is the wealthy and dim-whitted dog owner who travels to Philadelphia with Rhapsody's handler Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch). Equally ambitious are Megan and Hamilton Swan, two attorneys with the drive to take their Weimaraner to the top. The flamboyant owners of a little Shih Tzu, Stefan Vanderhoof and Scott Donaln, want to prance home with the blue ribbon as well. Another pair of contenders, Cookie and Gerry Fleck are the hometown types with their terrier, Winkie, in the running. Rounding out the contenders are Harlan Pepper and his hound dog.

There are a group of prize-winning scenes in Best In Show. One of which is the busy bee scene. The two owners of the Weimaraner are unbelieveably high strung. Posey plays the wife, Megan Swan, and when the couple lose the dog's favorite toy, a "busy bee", Megan tears apart their hotel room to find it. Then, she tears apart the mild-mannered petshop clerk downstairs. The amusing thing is that the dog involved could care less and Swan demonstrates that she clearly knows nothing about her dog. The couple who own the Shih Tzu are quite a pair as well. Scott is a flambouant homosexual, who amuses himself by shocking the straight-folk. His partner, Stefan is a more reserved queen and hairdresser. The two form an Odd Couple sort of relationship which garnered a few chuckles from yours truly. Sherri Ann Cabot is well-deserving for a Dumbest Blonde prize (although the verdict's still out). At one point in the movie, she steps up to the consession stand and orders a tub of popcorn, "half salt, half butter". Then, she muches away while awaiting a message from herself. The pair of commentators is also a quirky pair. Buck Laughlin (played by Fred Willard) handles the show as a layman, devoid of any sense of delicacy or knowledge of breeds. His counterpart, Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock) is the stuffy yet knowledgable gentleman. The pair play off of each other neatly.

Each of the actors in this movie play their characters with a straight face and pinpoint delivery. There really wasn't one player that I thought screwed the pooch on this one. I applaud all of the cast in Best In Show. Somewhat underappreciated, I suspect, are the dog actors in the movie. It's easy to forget that each of the animals in the film had to be trained, handled and rehearsed for their roles as well. The relationship each of the actors has with the dogs didn't just develop overnight. So, I'd like to give a great paws-up to all of the four-legged cast. The Rhapsody In White poodle was the best behaved and most convincing of the group (although the dog's real name is impossibly long).

Coming from the perspective of someone who's familiar with championship dog shows as a spectator, I thought Best In Show was a good laugh. It makes relentless fun of the obsessive dog showing crowd, but holds on to a realism that makes the comedy even more potent. As a someone who isn't typically a comedy viewer, it caters to my sense of humor and doesn't rely heavily on sight gags and low-brow fart jokes. So, if you're a dog lover or even a Eugene Levy fan, go out and rent Best in Show and have a laugh.

Overall Rating: 3 1/2
Hottie Rating: 0

Alternate Recommendation: This is Spinal Tap
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