Disciplines
Screenwriting
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Guest Who – An analysis of For your Consideration by Christopher Guest
Christopher guest mockumentaries shaped a generation of comedy in America. Films such as Waiting for Guffman (1996,) Best in Show (2000,) A Mighty Wind (2003,) and most recently Mascots (2016,) on Netflix rank historically among the funniest movies ever made and have all received critical acclaim, with one exception. The mockumentary, For Your Consideration (2000), while in the same vein as the others, did not perform as well in the box office and is not the beloved favorite like Guest’s other films. Critics and fans alike were disappointed, and it remains his least popular work. Many Christopher Guest fans have never even heard of the film.
For your Consideration deals with a cast of Hollywood hacks creating a dramatic independent film. Word gets out that aging star, Marilyn Hack, may be nominated for an Oscar for her performance before the film has finished shooting. Despite an all-star cast of hilarious improvisors, the film doesn’t work. A number of scholars have theorized about why the movie was not a success, often claiming that Christopher Guest films are better when parodying quaint small-time topics like community theatre show or the Purina dog show and that he was punching too high with the Oscar awards. I contend that the issues with For your Consideration have everything to do with a lack of structure, absence of an empathetic protagonist with a clear goal, and other fundamental cinematic storytelling devices that are present in Guest’s other films.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - English
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Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Anna Weinstein
Guest Who - An analysis of For Your Consideration by Christopher Guest
Guest Who – An analysis of For your Consideration by Christopher Guest
Christopher guest mockumentaries shaped a generation of comedy in America. Films such as Waiting for Guffman (1996,) Best in Show (2000,) A Mighty Wind (2003,) and most recently Mascots (2016,) on Netflix rank historically among the funniest movies ever made and have all received critical acclaim, with one exception. The mockumentary, For Your Consideration (2000), while in the same vein as the others, did not perform as well in the box office and is not the beloved favorite like Guest’s other films. Critics and fans alike were disappointed, and it remains his least popular work. Many Christopher Guest fans have never even heard of the film.
For your Consideration deals with a cast of Hollywood hacks creating a dramatic independent film. Word gets out that aging star, Marilyn Hack, may be nominated for an Oscar for her performance before the film has finished shooting. Despite an all-star cast of hilarious improvisors, the film doesn’t work. A number of scholars have theorized about why the movie was not a success, often claiming that Christopher Guest films are better when parodying quaint small-time topics like community theatre show or the Purina dog show and that he was punching too high with the Oscar awards. I contend that the issues with For your Consideration have everything to do with a lack of structure, absence of an empathetic protagonist with a clear goal, and other fundamental cinematic storytelling devices that are present in Guest’s other films.