Best in Show is a 2000 American mockumentary comedy film co-written (along with Eugene Levy) and directed by Christopher Guest. The film follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show, and focuses on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers, as they travel to the show and then compete during the show. There are also short depictions of the characters six months after the show is over. Among the comedic aspects of the film are similarities between the personalities and characteristics of the owners and those of their dogs. Much of the dialogue was improvised. Many of the comic actors were also involved in Guest's other films, including This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Mascots.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Plot
Best in Show is presented as a documentary of five dogs and their owners destined to show in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, held in Philadelphia. Segments of the documentary continuously cycle among owners and handlers as each prepares to leave for the show, arrives at the hotel, prepares backstage, handles their dog's performance, and appears in a post-show follow-up. The owners and their dogs include:
- Gerry and Cookie Fleck (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara), with their Norwich Terrier Winky -
- Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock), with their Weimaraner Beatrice -
- Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest) and his Bloodhound Hubert -
- Sherri Ann and Leslie Ward Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw) with their Standard Poodle Rhapsody in White (a.k.a. Butch) -
- Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof (John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean) and their Shih Tzu Miss Agnes -
The owners and their dogs all arrive in time for the show, which is hosted by dog expert Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock), and oblivious "color" commentator Buck Laughlin (Fred Willard). During the first round, Beatrice is disqualified when Hamilton cannot control her, but the other four dogs advance to the final round. Just before the finals, Cookie dislocates her knee and insists that Gerry take over for her. Though the audience is initially awed by seeing Gerry's "two left feet" (the result of a birth defect), ultimately Winky takes Best in Show.
Afterwards, the film explores what each character is doing after the competition. Gerry and Cookie return home to Florida and are overcome with attention after the victory. They go on to record, in amusingly bad style, songs about terriers but discover to Gerry's frustration that the recording engineer is yet another of Cookie's ex-boyfriends (Steven Porter). Sherri Ann and Christy have entered into a partnership (It is unknown if either Leslie has died or if he has gotten divorced from Sherri Ann.) and publish a magazine for lesbian owners of purebred dogs, called American Bitch. Harlan fulfills his dreams and becomes a ventriloquist, entertaining sparse crowds with a honky tonk song and dance number. Stefan and Scott are in the process of designing a calendar featuring Shih Tzu dogs appearing in scenes, with appropriate costume, from famous classic films, such as Gone with the Wind and Casablanca (and McMillan and Wife, a television show included without explanation.) Hamilton and Meg Swan have given Beatrice away, allowing them to enjoy a calmer, more loving partnership as well as a new dog (a pug) named Kipper who they claim enjoys watching them make love.
Cast
Actors
Dogs
The starring dogs listed here are denoted by their registered names. All have earned the title Ch., indicating they have qualified for a championship at a conformation show, with most qualifying at the Canadian Kennel Club Championship--hence the prefix Can. The breeder's kennel prefix, expressed in possessive form, precedes each dog's registered name; e. g. in "Arokat's Echobar Take Me Dancing", the breeder is "Arokat" and the registered name is "Echobar Take Me Dancing". The registered name differs from the dog's call name, which is used to talk to the animal. In the example, Echobar Take Me Dancing's call name is "Peach".
- Can Ch. Arokat's Echobar Take Me Dancing - Beatrice the Weimaraner
- Can Ch. Urchin's Bryllo - Winky the Norwich Terrier
- Ch. Quiet Creek's Stand By Me - Hubert the Bloodhound
- Can Ch. Rapture's Classic - Miss Agnes the Shih Tzu
- Can Ch. Symarun's Red Hot Kisses - Tyrone the Shih Tzu
- Can Ch. Exxel's Dezi Duz It With Pizaz - Rhapsody in White the Standard Poodle
Reception
Best in Show received critical acclaim. The film has a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 110 reviews, with an average rating on 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A fine example of writer/director/star Christopher Guest's gift for improv comedy, Best in Show boasts an appealingly quirky premise and a brilliantly talented cast". The film also has a score of 78 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It won American, British, and Canadian Comedy Awards. The film is number 38 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". In 2012 Best in Show won a spot on Yahoo's list of the "100 Funniest Movies to See Before You Die".
The film opened to a weekend gross of $413,436 to thirteen theatres with an average of $31,802 per theater. After opening to a total of 497 theaters, the film ended its run with a domestic total $18,715,392. With a foreign gross of $2,074,164 it brought the total gross revenue to $20,789,556.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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