Numbers mean something to everyone – whether it be anniversaries, birthdays or milestones, we all celebrate reaching a certain point. Personally, I am engaged in my own celebration of sorts, as small as it may be: this is my 500th review. I have been trying to determine which film I should review for this milestone, with top contenders being Inland Empire (the most recent theatrically-released film by David Lynch, a filmmaker who I have never shrouded my admiration of) and Django Unchained, the film that is the namesake of this very website, and the film that inspired me to start writing about movies. However, these were far too conventional options, and I wanted something memorable, and a film that represented a particular aspect of cinema that I love. The only film that I could possibly choose to write about is Best in Show, a film by Christopher Guest, who longtime readers will recall I have held the deepest admiration and fondest adoration for over the years. It only made sense that I should review what I consider to be one of the films of his Holy Trinity of Mockumentaries, and the only one I have yet to review (Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind have been reviewed previously). Perhaps the decision to review this film as my 500th review was because I just felt the urge to rewatch Best in Show for the umpteenth time (I genuinely rewatch this film at least once a year), or because it is a film that means a lot to me as a comedy aficionado, a film-lover and just a person in general. The reasons for this will be made very clear throughout this review. Therefore, without any further ado, let us discuss Best in Show, undeniably a comedy masterwork, and a contender for greatest comedy film ever made.

Christopher Guest has made a career out of his large ensembles playing a variety of zany characters all connected by a loose narrative string that brings them all together. Waiting for Guffman had the inhabitants of a small town celebrating a major anniversary with an amateur theatre production (in fact, I am a bit disheartened that I did not have the foresight to choose Waiting for Guffman as the film I celebrate a milestone by writing about), A Mighty Wind has a group of faded folk musicians reunite to pay tribute to their deceased manager, and For Your Consideration was Guest’s most comically-misanthropic satire yet, taking aim at a group of elitist performers who hilariously fall victim to the dreaded “Oscar buzz” that comes from appearing in a prestige awards-season film. However, Best in Show is perhaps Guest’s most idiosyncratic film, a film that works entirely on its own merits as a masterwork of looking at the oddballs that inhabit the very specific world of dog pageantry. Best in Show is the Christopher Guest film that hits the highest notes the most frequently, and while it may not be my personal favorite of Guest’s films, it is certainly an extraordinarily good film, and that just speaks to the strengths of Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind rather than the weaknesses of Best in Show, a film that I love unconditionally – and perhaps its utter perfection is was makes it so unique from the others, which embrace their flaws with reckless joyfulness. Do not let these justifications of Best in Show not being my favorite of Guest’s films deter from the fact that I absolutely adore this film and consider it a truly tremendous piece of comedic artistry.

Let’s get straight to the point: the ensemble. There is very little that can actually be said that can accurately describe the true brilliance of Christopher Guest’s films in terms of the performances. He has consistently filled his films with a collection of character actors and comedic geniuses that help define these films as masterpieces through their relentlessly brilliant performances. Guest, as his status as a filmmaker would suggest, is a director who shoots without much of a script, relying almost entirely on the actors to improvise and play off each other in creating the characters and progress the story. Therefore, it would be an understatement to say that the ensemble of comedic players that constantly work with Guest are merely collaborators – they are as equal in the production of the film as Guest himself, and are as responsible for creating the film as the credited crew. Guest is not the first filmmaker to attempt films that are majorly improvised and rely on the actors in constructing their characters, and he certainly is not the last, but his films are just so much more meaningful and fascinating when it comes to putting the actors in the enviable position of having some control over their characters. It takes an ensemble of supremely gifted performers to be this effective, and Best in Show features some of the best work from the Guest ensemble.

As with every Christopher Guest film, there are strong performances throughout the cast, ranging from the major focal characters to the secondary and tertiary players who appear in only a few scenes. However, like all of Guest’s films, there are a few standouts in the cast that are just definitive of the film’s tone and elevate the material to a point that this film could be considered a true masterpiece. Best in Show has remarkable performances from Catherine O’Hara as Cookie Fleck, the middle-aged suburban housewife who has quite a reputation around the country for her youthful antics. Eugene Levy plays her husband Gerry, who quite literally has two left feet. Levy and O’Hara are perhaps Guest’s greatest collaborators, and it is not a surprise that the films that represented Guest hitting the highest notes were Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, all of which featured Levy and O’Hara having considerable chemistry (even going as far as playing couples in two of them). Neither may actually give their finest performance in a Guest film here, with O’Hara being extraordinary as an actress who develops quite in ego after attaining awards-season buzz in For Your Consideration, and Levy giving a nuanced and heartbreaking performance as a broken folk star in A Mighty Wind. However, playing perhaps the most central characters in this film (and perhaps the most effortlessly likable of the cast), they shine unconditionally. Moreover, it is not a surprise that Guest’s strongest films were the aforementioned Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind (I just love typing these titles – they are so strangely poetic), which all credit Levy a co-writer alongside Guest. It is an undeniable fact that O’Hara and Levy are dynamite in these films, and they are the key to success, and considering Guest’s two most recent works – the underrated Family Tree and the unusual misfire Mascots – are also considered amongst his weaker works, it could be justified by the lack of participation on the part of Levy and O’Hara. This isn’t to disregard the entire ensemble, but rather state that this particular duo is the core of what makes a Christopher Guest film so brilliant.

Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock are as reliably great as they always are (not only in Guest films but throughout their careers as character actors across various mediums), and Jane Lynch and Jennifer Coolidge are fantastic, and prove themselves to constantly be truly talented performers that deserve substantial careers to bring them to household acclaim, which has happened to Lynch (to an extent) through her work on television, and Coolidge is a consistently-adored character actress capable of showing considerable depth and comedic timing when given the right material (and that “right material” is certainly not American Pie). However, the true soul of this film in terms of performers is most certainly Fred Willard. A consistent presence in projects by Guest, with his first appearance being in the film that could be considered the unofficial genesis of this series of mockumentaries, This is Spinal Tap, right up until Mascots last year (the only films made by Guest in which Willard does not appear in are The Big Picture and Almost Heroes, neither of which are considered in the same vein as these mockumentaries). He is always a scene-stealer in those films, but there is just something about his performance in Best in Show that I found to be exhilarating. Playing color commentator Buck Laughlin, Willard merely exists to make some hilariously strange observations during the dog pageant portions of the film. All of Guest’s films have fantastic ensembles, but there is always that one standout, and Best in Show features Willard at his most hilariously oblivious and he runs away with this film, which is a remarkable feat considering the strength of the ensemble of the film, all of which are wonderful.

Best in Show is such a great film. It is difficult to talk about anything other than the ensemble of Christopher Guest’s film, because essentially, they are the overriding core of these films, and dominate everything about it. Best in Show is a film that never fails to make me laugh heartily, and every viewing just results in more genuine laughter as I increase in admiration for this film. Comedy is a delicate art, and it is far more difficult than it appears, but Guest and his collaborators have succeeded in creating a film that makes one laugh at the most awkward, utterly cringe-inducing situations. It is uncomfortably hilarious, and the deft navigation of the world of oddballs that this film examines is both ludicrous and ridiculously scathing, but also endearing and heartfelt. A truly tremendous film from one of comedy’s great masters, someone who I believe should be appreciated far more than he is already, and hopefully, he will come to be recognized as an artist who redefined comedic filmmaking and influenced generations of filmmakers hoping to learn from his effortless command of his artistry. Best in Show is a wonderful film, and a film I adore unconditionally.