Mitch: Eugene Levy
Mickey: Catherine O'Hara
Alan: Christopher Guest
Jerry: Michael McKean
Mark: Harry Shearer
Jonathan Steinbloom: Bob Balaban
Mike LaFontaine: Fred Willard
Lars Olfen: Ed Begley Jnr.
I was slightly worried that after watching A Mighty Wind,
folk music would be ruined for me in the same way that
This Is Spinal Tap
ruined heavy metal. I simply can’t take Iron Maiden seriously anymore and trying
to listen to their music without laughing or thinking of Tap lyrics is an
exercise in futility.
Legendary music promoter Irving Steinbloom has died and so a tribute concert
is organised in his honour by his son, who tries to get together all the acts
his father managed in the 60s. In documentary style we see rehearsal footage and
reunions interspersed with interviews and faked archive footage.
The fact that folk hasn’t been spoiled then is either a relief or a
disappointment, depending how you look at it. There can be no denying that
something of an edge has been lost and that the music and performers are just
not being targeted as mercilessly as they once were, but the recreations are
spot on and there are plenty solid chuckles to be had.
Most of the faces from Best In Show return and the addition of Shearer
marks a Spinal Tap reunion of sorts, but Guest gives most of the running time
over to the others. Catherine O’Hara is delightful and Bob Balaban
gets a few good laughs but Fred Willard steals it again, just as his
dog show commentator did, this time as a washed up promoter.
Don’t expect to be rolling in the aisle but you’ll be smiling as you leave
and maybe even singing along with the songs. A mighty wind’s a blowing, it’s
blowing you and me.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
