DVD Club: A Prairie Home Companion

Barcalounger · #1 12-26-2006, 04:10 PM

I didn't see a discussion thread on this started yet. I watched it with my family over the weekend, and I must say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. As did everyone I watched it with. I might be a bit biased since I consider myself a casual fan of the radio program (I always enjoy the random 10 minutes I catch in the car), but my dad really liked it even though he had no clue it was based on a real thing.

Many times in a film with this many famous actors in it, you get the feeling that half of them are phoning it in. But Altman really got some good performances out of them, and the timing between characters was excellent. Especially good in my opinion were the Woody Harrelson and John C. Reily cowboys, who cracked me up in every scene. Especially in their last musical number. The film moves along briskly, I never got lost in the multitude of plot lines, and when it was over I wanted more. Garreson Keeler is also great in playing himself, an old relic of a great time long since past.

My wife didn't much like the angel of death plot line, but I thought it fit in perfectly. The film is essentially about the death: the death of a show, the death of a cast member, the death of small radio stations being gulped up by clear channel, a teenager's obsession with death, and the death of a way of life in the plains. The radio show has always been a stylized fictional version of a section of the real world, so the inclusion of a walking talking angel gave the audience the clue that this film was just a stylized fictional version of the production of this radio show.

Dominic · #2 12-26-2006, 06:17 PM

I enjoyed it but I don't think it's one of Altman's best. An interesting attempt at something different that didn't quite work.

I did like Meryl Streep and the Cowboys, as well as Kevin Kline.

The Angel of Death plotline was a little precious but I guess it worked. However, someone explain the very end to me, when we see a bunch of the cast members in a diner and the last shot is of the Angel of Death walking in....does this mean someone else from the cast is about to die??? It just seemed to be a very odd ending for such a innocuous little movie.

pryor15 · #3 12-26-2006, 10:01 PM

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However, someone explain the very end to me, when we see a bunch of the cast members in a diner and the last shot is of the Angel of Death walking in....does this mean someone else from the cast is about to die???

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Altman?

sure, hindsight is 20/20, but everyone pretty much knew this could easily be his last film

katyseagull · #4 12-27-2006, 12:30 PM

I liked your review of this, Barcalounger. I don't think I liked the film as much as you did though. On a certain level I suppose it worked for me because I found myself actually enjoying the music and this surprised me. Initially I thought I was going to hate it.

My favorite character was Woody Harrelson. God I love that guy. He makes a really good cowboy. I also enjoyed watching Lindsay Lohan sing. I think that girl has a lot of talent. I think she might just be a great actress someday if she doesn't self destruct. She has something onscreen that is really appealing.

The film was a little frustrating for me because I thought Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin were ill-used and at times just extremely annoying. I like Meryl Streep a lot. I would have loved her to have a more complex role I guess but her singing was not that great.

Also, I did not really care for the angel of death thing. And what was with that ending?! I was almost into this movie until the very end and then, well, a little fed up.

Interesting film, just not my cup of tea. The music was cool though. Really mellow but kind of fun.

SoloAJ · #5 12-27-2006, 02:00 PM

I watched this movie with my girlfriend a few days ago and neither of us liked it very much. We were surprised that we didn't because we both thought it woudl be great going into it...

I think a large part of it might have been that while we knew it was a real program and such, we never have listened to it. So from the beginning I was unfamiliar with the characters and what they do on the show. I think that if I had more familiarity with the show I would have appreciated it much more.

Throughout the entire movie I kept asking, what is the plot of this movie. I got that it was shutting down and I understood the angel of death plot (which I didn't like much at all)...But I never understood what really was going on. The characters downplay the fact that it is getting shut down so it doesn't seem like much of a conflict. The film just kind of floats by for the hour and a half without doing much....I suppose it paralleled the radio show in that way. While that may add to its cute little feeling for some, I just didn't like that aspect of the film.

That all said, I thought some of the acting was really good. Obviously the cowboys Harrelson and Reilly were hilarious.

Also, I recently watched Devil Wears Prada which was my first time seeing Streep acting. I thought she did well in DWP...but I now realize that she did really well. The contrast between her characters in DWP and PHC is enormous. While I didn't like her character a GREAT deal in this movie, she was superb...and seeing that contrast within a few days made me really like her.

(Note: I have seen Deer Hunter...but when I saw that I didn't even realize it was Streep or really focus on her role.)

All in all, I'd say I didn't like the plot or story very much, but that may be attributed to unfamiliarity with the radio show. I loved some of the acting, especially Tommy Lee Jones' stint in the movie. I might watch it again if I was in the mood just to see if I perceive the movie differently, but as it is...I was a bit let down.

diebitter · #6 12-28-2006, 09:03 AM

Well, I watched this, and enjoyed it. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I think it's the type of film if you let it just wash over you, you get more out of it than going in with expectations.

The Angel of Death thing seemed a little silly and initially I found it a bit annoying, as it kept breaking the 4th wall for me - reminding me I was watching a movie. But I got over it, and it just seemed organic to the film by the end.

I did like the music an awful lot, and Meryl Streep can really sing nicely - Lohan too. I might see if there's such a thing as a soundtrack to it - might be worth getting.

Overall, I found the characters likeable and extremely well-acted and convincing, but it did have a clear lack of focus when there was a clear dynamic right there in front of us to give it focus - a long-standing, loved radio show closing down.

Barcalounger · #7 12-28-2006, 05:18 PM

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I liked your review of this, Barcalounger. I don't think I liked the film as much as you did though.

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Thanks. I reread my post, and it does sound like I liked the movie just a little bit more than I actually did. I had some of the minor qualms with it that a lot of you have pointed out. I'd rate it at almost 4 out of 5 stars, an above average movie that I enjoyed.

Any fans of the radio show out there? Was Guy Noir the flesh realization of a reoccurring character? He certainly seemed that way.

Barcalounger · #8 12-31-2006, 12:12 PM

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The characters downplay the fact that it is getting shut down so it doesn't seem like much of a conflict.

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but it did have a clear lack of focus when there was a clear dynamic right there in front of us to give it focus - a long-standing, loved radio show closing down.

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I have a theory on the "downplaying of the central conflict" in this movie and how it actually fits. Two of the most over represented groups in film (IMHO) are the "neurotic New Yorker" and the "overly self-important Californian". Why? Both types of characters are perfect for the medium because they will play up any conflict and make it seem important for the viewers. The Garrison character in Prairie Home Companion is so "non-neurotic" and "not self-important" that he's going to let his 30 year radio show's last episode go by without comment, then take a job at a parking garage afterwards. So the "downplaying" really does, for me at least, help strengthen the central theme of A Prairie Home Companion about nostalgia for old timey Midwestern values, and the differences between the fly over states with the coasts. Midwestern folk generally don't fret over stuff as much (at least that's how we like to see ourselves [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]).

PS - I'm talking about the Garrison CHARACTER in the movie, not the actual guy. Writing a movie about the last episode of your radio show can probably be argued as slightly neurotic and/or self important.

John Feeney · #9 01-01-2007, 02:05 AM

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The Garrison character in Prairie Home Companion is so "non-neurotic" and "not self-important" that he's going to let his 30 year radio show's last episode go by without comment, then take a job at a parking garage afterwards.

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You make some very insightful comments in this thread Mr. lounger. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I just saw this tonight, and enjoyed it very much. I too liked the cowboys best. Gotta like Woody somehow.

KOTLP · #10 01-03-2007, 05:27 AM

Finally watched this and I'm still puzzling over the end when the Angel of Death comes to the diner. Pryor's comment that she might be there for Altman is interesting. I figured it was Guy Noir, though I'm not sure why other than he looked scared - his character is generally confusing to me. Also, at the very end was that the reunion show or a flashback? need to watch the last 10 minutes again.

I've watched/rewatched several Altman films since his death, and although I don't think this is one of his better films, it has his signature and I can't help but like it. Keillor cracked me up throughout the film (and I'm not usually a big fan of his show). I wonder how close the character is to himself. The Dusty and Lefty routines were really funny too.