Waiting for Guffman (1996)

Director:

Christopher Guest

Writers (WGA):

Christopher Guest (written by) &
Eugene Levy (written by)

Release Date:

31 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

There's A Good Reason Some Talent Remains Undiscovered

Plot:

An aspiring director and the marginally-talented amateur cast of a hokey small-town Missouri musical production go overboard when they learn that someone from Broadway will be in attendance.

Plot Keywords:

Missouri | Dairy Queen | Dentist | Amateur Theater | Travel Agent

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Deborah Theaker	...	Gwen Fabin-Blunt - Councilwoman
Michael Hitchcock	...	Steve Stark - Councilman
Scott Williamson	...	Tucker Livingston - Councilman
Larry Miller	...	Glenn Welsch - Mayor
Don Lake	...	Phil Burgess - Blaine Historian
Christopher Guest	...	Corky St. Clair
Fred Willard	...	Ron Albertson
Catherine O'Hara	...	Sheila Albertson
Parker Posey	...	Libby Mae Brown
David Cross	...	UFO Expert
Eugene Levy	...	Dr. Allan Pearl
James McQueen	...	Singing Auditioner (as Jim McQueen)
Turk Pipkin	...	Ping Pong Ball Juggler
Jerry Turman	...	Raging Bull Auditioner
Bob Balaban	...	Lloyd Miller

Also Known As:

The Christopher Guest Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief strong language.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | SDDS | SDDS (uncredited)

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | USA:R (No. 33995)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The musical auditions were the actors' very first public performances of their respective audition pieces.

Goofs:

Continuity: The placement of the show posters on Corky's wall.

Quotes:

Dr. Pearl: I'm walking on air... you know... this is a sensation which is... forget it. When I became a dentist, I thought I was happy, but this...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Psy vs. Psy (#2.3)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Midnight At The Oasis

Good spoof documentary from Guest

Sometimes dry, sometimes bubbling satire of middle America chronicles Corky Corkoran's (Guest) efforts to put on a spectacle commemorating the town of Blaine's 150th anniversary. Told in "mockumentary" style like most of Guest's films. Corky drafts an odd assortment of local talent to bring his historical revue to life, including the local dentist (Levy) and travel agent couple (O'Hara and Willard). Like "Spinal Tap", this film mercilessly spoofs the "artistic" pretentions of Corky and his cast, but the audience ends up feeling genuine affection for the characters, the provincial backwater of Blaine, and even Corky's awful show with laughable music and acting. Guest's performance, as well as several of the others, is very funny and memorable.

A likeable comedy that some audiences may find too slow... much funnier than his later (and more popular) "Best of Show".