Christopher Guest - the Godfather of Fictional Documentaries about Loveable Idiots

The naive good hearted idiocy of the recently deceased comedic genius Fred Willard will be greatly missed. His goofy grin and well intentioned idiocy became a staple of American film and television comedy, and his dim witted charm and comic wit was never better utilized than in the brilliant fictional documentaries of Christopher Guest where he was a stand out in an ensemble of comedians who played a range of more or less lovable imbeciles. Guest’s films somehow found a balance between cruel mockery of its characters, and sentimental respect for their humble yet ridiculous endeavors, and Willard’s talents a key aspect to maintaining this balance.

Guest himself dislikes the term Mockumentary as he insists that he is not mocking his characters, and this is certainly true to a certain degree. His films feature heroes living on the fringes of society who attack their dreams with the same dedicated veracity as the politicians, artists, and athletes society admires and who are subject to endless documentaries. However, Guest’s characters are far from being Martin Luther King Jr., Leonardo Da Vinci, or Michael Jordan. They are down and out band members, competitive dog owners, forgotten folk singers, small town theatre actors, and amateur mascots. It is not entirely true that Guest is not mocking his protagonists, as we certainly are not laughing with them. We are laughing at them, but with a continuous empathetic smile and sometimes a tear in our eye. Guest lovingly respects his character's blind fanaticism. Their dreams may be small and absurd, but their passion is enviable.

Guest frequently writes, directs, and stars in his own films. His breakout film was as the screenwriter and star of Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap. Though he was not the director of the film, it was a highly collaborative effort, and in it he developed a style and process that he still sticks to today. His filmmaking approach is extraordinary, and relies heavily on the improvisational talents of the players. Guest and his screenwriters do not write a script, but a detailed outline. They write specific backgrounds for each of the characters and a step by step layout of the scenes in the film, putting nothing more than essential information such as what must happen. With this information the actors are given free reign, even able to choose their own wardrobe. This really gives the film the documentary quality that Guest seeks to imitate. The actors' responses and reactions to the camera and their fellow actors seem genuine. They are not waiting to read their lines, but they speak, interrupt, respond, pause, and even scream and cry in a natural way as the scene plays out.

The organization of Guest’s ‘script’ is essential to the film having a cohesiveness so it does not burst out of control, something which could easily happen if he was not as careful. Films like some of Jud Apatow’s produced films like This is the End, or Will Ferrel and Adam McKay’s collaborations like Step Brothers come to mind. Though these films can have a varying degree of success, many of them erupt into chaos in a way Guest’s films never do. These comedies can be entertaining in their unpredictableness, but they lack the precision and sight that Guest’s films have. His actors may have the audience rolling on the floor with laughter, but Guest never forgets the purpose of his films is not only to make people laugh, but to contemplate on these endearing idiots who reflect people we all know, and probably even recognise in ourselves if we are really honest.

In 1884 This is Spinal Tap was the big beginning to Guest’s career, and though fictional documentaries were not new to cinema, the term Mockumentary, a term Reiner used to describe the film, became the popular way to describe such films and led to a slew of them being produced. In the film Guest plays British rocker Nigel Tufnel, a member of the group Spinal Tap which also includes lead singer David St. Hubbins played by Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls. Both actors would go on to work in Guest’s next projects. The film became a cult classic after its initial release and led to the fictional band playing actual gigs, and Guest noting that their fictional group became much more famous in reality than it was in the film that represented them. The actors really did write and perform their own songs which gives the film that realness of a documentary that is impressive and hilarious at the same time, and such scenes like turning a speaker ‘Up to 11’ have become a part of popular knowledge even for people who have not seen the film.

Guest’s next fictional documentary, Waiting for Guffman, would not be made until 1996. It is a wonderful film about a theatre troupe putting on a show in small town Blaine, Missouri to celebrate the town’s 150th birthday. Guest’s style perhaps works even better in America and highlights American pride, as the citizens of Blaine unthinkingly pay tribute to their town’s comically ridiculous history as if they were celebrating the French Revolution. As a light criticism, Guest is slightly attacking American’s seeming need to be proud of their heritage no matter what it might be. Another clever dig at two of his numb minded characters are a couple who own a travel agency who have never actually been outside of Missouri played wonderfully by Willard and Catherine O’Hara. The other main members of the cast include Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, and Guest himself all of whom would go on to star in nearly all of his subsequent films.

Guest plays Corky St. Clair, an effeminate man dedicated to theatre life from New York, who, never finding success there, left and somehow ended up in Blaine. Coming from small town middle America myself, the history of Corky is spot on to me. One wonders how people like him end up in these faceless small towns in the Midwest, but somehow they do. Outsiders are not common, but some arrive and find something calm and simple about life in these towns away from the hustle and bustle of big city life, completely isolated from a life that would lead to the ‘true’ success that many Americans aspire to. Being a theatre success in Blaine is much easier than doing so in New York, and Corky is a Blaine success. He is a mediocre obviously closeted theatre director who is adored and respected by his community of artless, uncultured townspeople.

And while all this may seem like an ugly attack on small town America, in the end, Guest has great respect for the show Corky and his troupe puts on. It’s ridiculous, embarrassing, poorly acted, and completely unaware of itself, but it is made with the hard work, dedication, and real commitment that most people rarely put into anything. These people give 100% to their art, and even if they will never end up on Broadway, they are a true success in their own world, they are the Jack Nicholsons and Meryl Streeps of Blaine, Missouri.

Guest’s next film, Best in Show, is perhaps his greatest success after This is Spinal Tap. In it he depicts dog owners and handlers competing in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. The film stars Guest regulars Levy, O’Hara, Posey, McKean, Michael Hitchcock, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Guest himself, and a particularly stunning turn from Willard as the clueless announcer. Willard really is the star of the film as he completely obliviously asks nonsensical questions to his fellow announcer played by Jim Piddock and does his best to compare it to real sports like American football. He brilliantly points out the laughable situation of the dog show in the innocent and harmless way that makes him so loveable.

Guest’s wide eyed characters, again, totally oblivious to the ridiculousness of what they are competing for, give all his actors a real time to shine, with another special mention to Jennifer Coolidge as the young voluptuous wife to her dying sugar daddy. Coolidge’s blond bimbo would become a staple of Guest’s ensemble, and her straight delivery of completely idiotic lines rival even the delivery of Willard.

Once again, despite everything, we come to care for most of the characters, with the exception of Posey and Hitchcock’s bickering couple, with a special respect for how far they take their love for their canine companions.

Guest would return to the music scene after Best in Show, with the especially sweet documentary dedicated to a show in remembrance of a recently deceased folk music producer. More than any of his films, A Mighty Wind celebrates its protagonists, perhaps because their talent really is impressive instead of just ludicrous. The film focuses on three different folk music groups and reunites the cast of all of Guest’s usual players. The heart and soul of the film are Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara who play the reunited exlovers and performing duo Micky and Mitch. Their most famous song, ‘A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow’ ended with the musicians themself sharing a touching peck on the lips, and the climax of the film thrillingly builds up to see if they will do it again or not. The film is so lovely that it actually brought me to tears several times throughout.

As an example of Guest’s shooting style, in one of the most memorable scenes Willard, the producer of the group The New Main Street Singers whose members include Lynch, Higgins, and Posey, is simply told to walk in and interrupt them as they practice. Nothing more. What ensues could not be written! Willard is let to his own ways and his well intentioned ignorant character bring tears of laughter to your eyes with his unthinkably stupid artistic recomendations. Another example of the power of improvisation is when the showrunner Hitchcock is showing the set to the son of the deceased producer played by Bob Balaban. As Balaban complains about everything from the dangerous floral arrangements to the 2D cut out of an enormous banjo, to the lights, Hitchcock becomes so annoyed that he astonishingly slaps him. Again, the slap came organically as the actors improvised the scene and is another example of the unscripted hilarity that is capable when capable comedians are left to themselves.

Guest’s final two films, For Your Consideration, and Mascots, perhaps are not as successful as his previous films, but they do have the same satirical bite that makes them worth watching. For Your Consideration looks at an aging actress played by Catherine O’Hara making a film that she desperately hopes will get her an Oscar nomination, and Mascots is about an international mascot competition of amateur performers for minor league teams.

For Your Consideration is a wonderful satire of Hollywood, and Mascots is more like Waiting for Guffman in its portrayal of people who take their profession deadly seriously no matter how preposterous their dreams seem to the rest of the world. Parker Posey and her sister played by Susan Yeagley are particularly moving in their absurdity. Posey, unable to do her performance due to food poisoning, passes her armadillo helmet to her sister to do the performance. A strange dance done to techno music leaves the audience in silence, unsure what to make of what they witnessed, and not in a good way. However, Posey and Yeagley are so content with the execution that they are moved to tears in a sisterly embrace. Guest is not laughing at them, but again, shows respect for their drive and dedication even if the end result was less than inspiring in anyone’s eyes but their own. Of course, Willard also shows up for a small role and has a stand out laugh out loud scene with a small person to whom he makes completely ignorant questions as he seeks to ‘help’ him.

Guest’s characters may be braindead, but their creator is anything but. His genuine interest in his characters blended with a respectable mockery of what they do make for some of the best comedies in the past decades. Willard’s passing is a great loss to his ensemble, and Guest has not made a film since 2016. Here is to hoping that he will find another group of fictional outsiders to humor and inspire us with their artistic endeavors. Until that day, we will be asking, as Willard would put it, ‘Wha Happened?!’