A Mighty Wind 2003

Since helping make cult history with This Is Spinal Tap, writer/director Christopher Guest and his inspired comic troupe have given us the mock documentary lowdown on provincial amateur dramatics in Waiting for Guffman and competitive pet shows in Best in Show. In A Mighty Wind they return to the music scene, in dangerously mellow mood, embracing the unmistakably 60s phenomenon of folk music – as represented by the tragically 00s phenomenon of the reunion concert. 

“A Mighty Wind is a movie that re-creates its object of satire with such pitch-perfect flair that it all but erases the line between derision and love. The songs were composed and performed by the cast members themselves, and they bring some of the same conviction to the enterprise that the actor-musicians did to Nashville. The movie is a folkie parody for anyone who, like me, finds the wholesome, tinkly, white-bread vibe of most folk music insipid beyond words but who can also listen to the Kingston Trio’s version of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and find its cascading wistfulness beautiful beyond words.” — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly 

“Old folkies will spot the genres being guyed. Others will enjoy little frissons, like Guest’s literally sheepish tenor (he baas his lyrics). The rest can just happily hum along. One of the groups is blurbed as ‘the kind of infectious it’s good to spread around’. The same goes for this film: the sweetest and funniest of Guest’s true-life fake-umentaries.” — Richard Corliss, Time