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A Prairie Home Companion

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  • A Prairie Home Companion

    Albert and I saw A Prairie Home Companion at the Varisty this afternoon. I am not a listener to the radio show but I did hear parts of a show or two in the past and I found the humor was enjoyable.

    The movie was okay, the bulk of the movie was showing a live radio show, with lot of musical numbers. The humorous non-musical skits were either off-stage or when the show wasn't on except for one skit that happen to be a commerical concerning duct tape with one guy doing the sound effects in response to what the actors were saying. Poor fellow got stumped on a situation that was said by Lily Tomlin.

  • #2
    Re: A Prairie Home Companion

    I saw it this weekend in the company of the AF (who has been listening to the show for years) and a co-worker who knows of the show, but rarely listens. (As for myself, I have known the crew of the show for years, worked with them on occasion, have been backstage during rehearsals and in the booth during broadcasts - so I have a "behind-the-scenes" perspective.)

    All three of us got a kick out of the film, for different reasons. The AF & I enjoyed many of the in-jokes that popped up, but I felt Kevin Kline was the weakest part. As is typical for an Altman film, the ensemble is the star and each character is slightly off-center from reality - but I felt Kline's "Guy Noir" was a little too slapstick to fit in. The co-worker enjoyed the range of characters (without knowing how they evolved from the on-air versions), as well as the live-broadcast aspects (he used to work for an all-news operation, on live TV broadcasts.)

    Fans of the radio show may be disturbed by how characters like Noir and the cowboys (Dusty & Lefty) come to life in the hands of actors, while the people who regularly do characters in the radio show (Garrison Keillor, Tim Russell, Sue Scott) end up in more limited roles; but I think most fans of the show will enjoy the movie at a deeper level than those who aren't familiar with APHC. I got a particular kick out of seeing radio-show regulars on the screen, like Tom Keith (sound-effects; stumping him is a regular joke of the radio show), and musicians like Rich Dworsky, Pat Donohue & Peter Ostroushko.

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    • #3
      Re: A Prairie Home Companion

      For me, a devoted fan of the radio show, the most delightful thing was the amazing versatility of Meryl Streep. She, and her "sister" Lily Tomlin, were just wonderful.

      There's no doubt that those who love the radio show and are faithful listeners will know a lot more about the subtle ins-and-outs of the film, but I think someone who has never even heard it would still enjoy this exceptional addition to the legacy of Robert Altman.

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      • #4
        Re: A Prairie Home Companion

        Originally posted by Albert
        For me...the most delightful thing was the amazing versatility of Meryl Streep. She, and her "sister" Lily Tomlin, were just wonderful.
        I've never been much of a Meryl Streep fan, and I was worried how well she would fit into an "ensemble" film (because she generally demands attention in her scenes) - but I agree with Albert here; "amazing versatility" describes her performance very well.

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        • #5
          Re: A Prairie Home Companion

          I can't really get into Garisson Kellor (or however you spell his name)

          I've tried, but I don't think he's at all interesting.

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          • #6
            Re: A Prairie Home Companion

            Originally posted by Kings House
            I can't really get into Garisson Kellor (or however you spell his name)

            I've tried, but I don't think he's at all interesting.
            Fortunately, he's not the "star" of this film - he is just one part of the ensemble.

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            • #7
              Re: A Prairie Home Companion

              Albert and I saw this a second time today. I need to correct something in an eariler post. It wasn't Lily Tomlin who had stumped the sound effects guy it was Meryl Streep who did it.

              And Dusty and Lefty's bad jokes segment was pretty funny.

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