A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Garrison Keillor (screenplay)
Garrison Keillor (story) ...

Release Date:

9 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

Radio like you've never seen it before.

Plot:

A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Singing | Cowboy | Angel | Performance

Awards:

3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Marylouise Burke	...	Lunch Lady
Woody Harrelson	...	Dusty
L.Q. Jones	...	Chuck Akers
Tommy Lee Jones	...	The Axeman
Garrison Keillor	...	GK
Kevin Kline	...	Guy Noir
Lindsay Lohan	...	Lola Johnson
Virginia Madsen	...	Dangerous Woman
John C. Reilly	...	Lefty
Maya Rudolph	...	Molly
Tim Russell	...	Stage Manager
Sue Scott	...	Makeup Lady
Meryl Streep	...	Yolanda Johnson
Lily Tomlin	...	Rhonda Johnson
Tom Keith	...	Himself - Sound Effects Man

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for risque humor.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #42472) | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-3 | Sweden:Btl | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG | Canada:PG (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Fitzgerald Theater - 10 Exchange Street E., St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Picturehouse Entertainment

Trivia:

This was the first occasion that Robert Altman worked with Meryl Streep. He remarked that she was "25% above anyone else".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While the movie takes place as a part of a fictional commercial radio station, WLT, the musicians music stands are emblazoned with the letters MPR which stands for Minnesota Public Radio from whence the actual program airs.

Quotes:

Dusty: Hey, uh... hey, Lefty. What did the elephant say to the naked man?
Lefty: What'd he say?
Dusty: It's cute, but can you really breathe through that thing?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Henry Rollins Show: Paul Thomas Anderson/Aimee Mann (#1.7)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Independence Rag

Mama's little baby loves rhubarb, rhubarb

Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion" is light, fluffy and fun, much like the radio show. As long as audiences keep this in mind, they'll be sold like Rhubarb pie and duct tape advertised during the broadcast.

The outstandingly cast ensemble and Altman's signature directing style stitch a flowing patchwork of laughs and tinges of nostalgia. Streep and Tomlin are dynamic together (and sing beautifully!), and Kline carries much of the film's comedy on his capable shoulders. The film represents a bygone era that the people of the show are still living in. Only Virginia Madsen, Lindsay Lohan and Tommy Lee Jones represent the outsiders to the otherwise coherent culture of the show, and as the film progresses, affect it and are affected by it in different ways.

I generally prefer films, however comic or fun they are, to have some deeper themes. But unlike the multi-layered theater that most of the film takes place in, there's nothing really behind the scenes here- it's art for arts sake. However, I still enjoyed the film and am actually relieved it didn't bog down in anything too serious.

Whether audiences are fans of the radio show or not, the film's worth its weight in Narco Bran Flakes.