Waiting for Guffman poster & wallpaper

Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara

A mockumentary set in the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri in which creative citizens prepare a multi-media pageant celebrating the 150th anniversary of their city.

Flixster Users

90% liked it

36,716 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

53 critics

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Christopher Guest

Release Date: August 21, 1996

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 21, 2001

Stats: 2,547 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

Waiting for Guffman Waiting for Guffman Waiting for Guffman
Upload a Photo |

View All Waiting for Guffman Photos (3)

Your Rating


clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (2,547)

  • Chiefilms
    November 11, 2009
    Chiefilms
    A classic movie/mockumentary that is fun to watch.
  • sheens431
    August 26, 2009
    sheens431
    I really missed the humor in this, went right over my head, I guess.
  • her69eyes
    July 23, 2009
    her69eyes
    150 years ago, settlers on their way to the West Coast found the salt-scented air of California sooner than expected. They came to a halt in what would be known as Blaine, MO - a humble town referred to as the "stool capital of America" following President Grover Cleveland's reco...( read more)gnition of a stool made in Blaine. If that doesn't impress you, then you must know that, before Roswell, aliens landed in Blaine - and, they were so giving, in fact, that they offered a pot luck dinner to all of Blaine's residents.

    It would be a travesty for such a story to go to waste, especially on the hugely important sesquicentennial of Blaine, and therefore the only viable option is to create a stage adaptation of the town's founding fathers. Now, who could direct such a significant piece?

    How about Corky St. Claire (Christopher Guest), the man coming off his recent success of a "Backdraft" stage production? Of course! He's the brilliant entrepreneur who may very well set a new standard for merchandising with "My Dinner with Andre" action figures. His goatee, colorful cardigans, and bowl cut certainly illustrate that he means business.

    But who to cast? How about Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), Blaine's only two travel agents (who, mind you, have never left Blaine)? Or that peppy young Dairy Queen waitress, Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey)? And, of course, what is a musical without the charmingly tone-deaf dentist, Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy)?

    Christopher Guest's brand of comedy is not new to fans of film. "This is Spinal Tap" has carved itself a legacy as a beloved cult classic, and more recently films like "Best in Show" have found a widespread audience on cable television. This faux documentary style, which has been dubbed mockumentary, is a significant inspiration for several of the hit television series' of today - most notably "The Office".

    Why "Waiting for Guffman", in particular, works, is because it's comedy is equal parts broad and subtle. While an easy-to-please audience won't have a hard time finding gags to laugh at, a more demanding bunch will smirk at the deadpan deliveries of one of the many hidden absurdities of the script. More importantly, the comedy is a sort of homage to amateur theater rather than a mockery of it. What a delight it is to watch "Waiting for Guffman" amongst the onslaught of crude and mean-spirited comedies that we see in theaters today.
  • ceWEBrity
    March 13, 2009
    ceWEBrity
    This is the funniest shit I have seen in a long, long time. Christoper Guest is a genius. Viva la mockumentary!
  • danperry17
    December 11, 2008
    danperry17
    A stock Christopher Guest mockumentary that features great performances by Parker Posey, Eugene Levy and Guest himself as director Corky St. Clair, it's probably second to This Is Spinal Tap for the best of Guest.
  • msugrl33
    November 4, 2009
    msugrl33
    Definitely in my top 5 of favorite movies of all-time. My favorite Christopher Guest movie by far!
  • magnolia12883
    October 20, 2009
    magnolia12883
    Christopher Guest's mockumentary is a hilarious send-up of small-town self-importance, show business dreamers, and boondock-dwelling country bumpkin idealism. Guest stars as Corky St. Clair, the more-than-a-little effeminate New York theatre director who has come to Blaine, Misso...( read more)uri with his "wife Bonnie" in order to work in an environment that won't reject him. Corky is an "old pro" whose credits include "Backdraft," a stage musical from which a local city council member recalls "You can still feel the heat!" For the "sesquecentennial" (150th Anniversary) celebration of the town's founding, Corky has written, and will produce and direct, an epic theater piece about the history of the town called "Red, White...and Blaine." He enlists an unusual cast of local, "real people" to act in his play, including old standbys Sheila and Ron Albertson (Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard), an astonishingly deluded (and dedicated) couple of amateur actors with their sights set on Hollywood - she is "still learning" and he is just the sort of condescending man that would think he could guide her; Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), the local Dairy Queen worker who auditions rather suggestively with the song "Teacher's Pet;" and dentist Dr. Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy, who co-wrote the wafer-thin blueprint of a script - the film is largely improvised), an awkward, Jewish, Vaudevillean-humored wannabe comedian whose wife is heroically supportive. The cast is rounded out by would-be young star Johnny Savage (Matt Keeslar), whom Corky takes an immediate... "liking" to, and whose father does not approve, and Clifford Wooley (famed acting patriarch Lewis Arquette), the salty old narrator of the piece. The music is to be conducted by one-time director Lloyd Miller (Bob Balaban), who is all business and no pleasure and whom seems a bit resentful of Corky's taking over of the project; at a low point, after Corky tries to quit, his cast reacts to Lloyd's promotion by immediately surrounding Corky's apartment and begging him to return. Fortune shifts when a representative for a prestigious foundation is to be sent to Blaine to witness and report back about the event; could the production be headed to Broadway? The production is supported, though not too much financially, by Gwen Fabin-Blunt (Deborah Theaker), a relative of the founder of the town who was its namesake; by Mayor Glenn Welsch (Larry Miller), who likes Corky but wants to put a ceiling over his pipe dreams; and by councilman Steve Stark (Michael Hitchcock), who may reveal his own "liking" for Corky before the show is through. We learn much about the town's history, from a local historian (Don Lake) who claims it is the "stool capital of the world" thanks to a visit from an American President, as well as a dry and quirky UFO expert (David Cross); seems the town was the sight of the "first" visit from Martians (not Roswell, as is dictated by popular belief). Christopher Guest, who directed and co-wrote, was also a star and co-writer of Rob Reiner's "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), a classic rock comedy which also took on the mockumentary-format; here, he has also wrote the music and lyrics for the film's musical numbers with Harry Shearer and Michael McKean, his bandmates and co-writers from the earlier film. Many of the film's laughs come from awkward silences, sharp one-liners, absurd humor, and yet, there's this certain off-kilter believability; Blaine's the kind of town you may be frightened to think could or does exist, yet you wouldn't be surprised to discover it did. The cast is uniformly excellent at imbuing what are essentially comic stereotypes of would-be show business people and small town lifers with a kind of almost-realism. The material, roughly sketched and then and mostly improvised, is a laugh-riot for virtually the film's entire running time from beginning to end. Oddly, I felt that the funnier bits seemed more to be found during the casting/rehearsal process than during the actual musical itself - which is very funny. You won't believe your eyes or ears, but this is a great comedic gem.

    NOTE: Make sure to watch at least the beginning of the end credits for some hilarious props that Guest's character is now hocking. I can't speak for anyone else, but some would be fun to have just as curios.
  • sirdudealot
    August 15, 2009
    sirdudealot
    this movie is truly strange, but certainly entertaining
  • macabrescribe
    July 1, 2009
    macabrescribe
    Anyone who's ever been involved with high school/college or regional/community theatre will surely get a kick out of this film.
  • exureimundo
    June 24, 2009
    exureimundo
    I thought this was funnier than "Spinal Tap".

View All Waiting for Guffman Reviews

Critic Reviews

April 12, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

A very funny, very unusual ensemble comedy that falls somewhere between slapdash and brilliant, an improvised comedy with more hits than misses. full review

May 11, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Priceless. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Attention is paid not simply to funny characters and punch lines, but to small nudges at human nature. full review

View more Waiting for Guffman reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Waiting for Guffman" !

Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Official Trailer

View Larger Waiting for Guffman Trailer

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Best in Show
    Best in Show (94%)
  • For the Title
    For the Title (100%)
  • A Mighty Wind
    A Mighty Wind (89%)
  • For Your Consideration
    For Your Consideration (78%)

More Movies like Waiting for Guffman

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Waiting for Guffm... : Watch Free on TV

Waiting for Guffman Trivia

  • Who had parts in the following movies: Josie and the Pussycats Waiting for Guffman House of Yes  Answer »
  • Which Merchant Ivory film adorns a lunchbox owned by Corky St. Clair at the end of Waiting for Guffman?  Answer »
  • This is from which Christopher Guest film? "It's a Zen thing, like 'how many babies fit in a tyre'?"  Answer »
  • Who did not not appear in both Christopher Guest films: Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show?  Answer »
More Waiting for Guffman Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Waiting for Guffman Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Waiting for Guffman to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?