Has anybody seen the mockumentary A Mighty Wind? I recommend it if you haven’t. It does for '50s and '60s folk music what This is Spinal Tap did for Heavy Metal.
Anyways there are a couple whistle sightings and a bodhran sighting. The first whistle sighting appears to be a brass Generation G or F whistle. It is never played but is just held by one of the New Main Street Singers. Then in one of the additional scenes Christopher Guest plays a green-fipple-brass-body whistle and in another Eugene Levy taps on a bodhràn while singing a gory ballad. Christopher Guest kind of knows what he’s doing on the whistle. He even vented the second octave D.
I agree that this movie is worth seeing. About the bodhran sighting, irish music purists should look away. It is the most laughable use of a bodhran I’ve seen in a while. This movie is especially good for those who know a bit about American folk music, though in many cases Irish would apply as well.
Every song they sing in this movie sounds exactly like a 60s era folk song, but they were all written for the movie. Some of them quite obviously (to me anyways) make fun of this sort of music at the same time. Like the song “Wonderin” the character in this song is singing a tale about how he never went anywhere, never did no wonderin’. I though it was hilarious because of all the rovin’ songs I know about exactly the opposite.
The movie takes on an even better dimension if you have seen the movie “Spinal Tap”, an earlier music mockumentary by the same people. Then you 'll notice that the same three guys who are Spinal Tap, are also The Folksmen.
Yup, rented “Wind” last weekend. I enjoyed it, but I too preferred “Best in Show”. It was all the funnier to me because I have a cat at home that looks and acts very much like one of the dogs in that movie!
When I brought home “Best in Show”, my 14 year old son throught I was nuts. But he watched the whole thing, then immediately wanted to see “Mighty Wind”.
I thought A Mighty Wind was just as funny as Best in Show but for different reasons. The characters and scenarios were different, maybe less in depth into the characters. The humor in A Mighty Wind is very dry compared to Best inShow which is a bit more slapstick.
I didn’t realize Harry Shearer was in This is Spinal Tap… Derek Smalls, right? I haven’t seen it for probably 10 years.
I thought A Mighty Wind had funny scenes, and funny moments, and some funny parodies, and funny performances, but I don’t think it held together very well as a movie. Disjointed, unconvincing, just sort of directionless. Like some others, I like all of Christopher Guest’s other “mockumentary” movies better. And the funny bits mentioned are generally less funny than the funny bits in his other flicks. I think.
I’d still tell someone that AMW is worth renting, though.
As I told a friend once, it seemed like a lot of AMW was a long lead-in to the funniest head-slap in cinema history.
I have wanted to see A Mighty Wind since I first heard about it- just haven’t gotten around to renting it yet.
I loved Best In Show because he got the people SOOOO right. Having shown dogs for well over two decades- I swear I know these people.
I just keep wondering which one I am…
It is quite funny it was mentioned. A guy at work was just telling me to go rent all 3 of the movies (A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show). He said it was “my type of humor.” What ever THAT was supposed to mean…something about “pointless humor” was thrown in as well…hmmmm
I guess it all seems coincidental since A Mighty Wind just come out on DVD/VHS.
I wonder if it’s like Spinal Tap in that each time you see it you noticed new things. There’s a scene in Spinal Tap for example where one of the guys is meditating with his girlfriend. After I’d seen this movie several time before I noticed in this scene the guy sticks his tongue out and there’s a big hit of LSD on his tongue.
Sea Monster, I’m sure you would notice more details each time through. That rang with me since seeing Rocky Horror again on Halloween and noticed quite a few new things - even after an embarassing number of times.
I finally rented A Mighty Wind and loved it! I think anyone who is a fan of Christopher Guest’s film would like it. But you definately must enjoy subtle humor. One of my daughters is like me- she loved Best in Show and loved A Mighty Wind. The other liked neither one.
I do think those like me who remember the folk music around then will enjoy it even more.
What’s really funny is that they would open for Spinal Tap in concert (in real venues) as the Folksmen, and get booed offstage. No one in the audience seemed to realize it was the same guys. =D Hee hee!!
Mary