Movie Snob Rant: A Prairie Home Companion

[Pale Blue Dot]

I got A Prairie Home Companion from Netflix the other day, and I was looking forward to it for several reasons: a)it was directed by the late, great Robert Altman; b)it got mostly very good reviews from the critics; c)it has a great cast including Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Tommy Lee Jones, Virginia Madsen, Woody Harrelson, and John C. Reilly; and, d)while I'm not a huge fan of the radio show, I have listened to it on occasion and enjoyed it.

So I put this in last night, and here is my review (shared by the Mrs): It's a steaming, yet boring, pile of stinky dog turd.

Seriously, what is there possibly to like about this movie? The characters and relationships are totally undeveloped, the "jokes" are few and far between and then so low-key as to barely register, the "home-spun wisdom" was trite yet pretentious, and the angel-of-death-as-beautiful-blond-in-white idea is only original if you've never seen All That Jazz. All that's left are the musical numbers, which are not bad if you like that sort of thing, but are much better on the radio show done by actual musicians rather than actors trying to show their range.

And as my final comment, I feel that it's important to mention that Lindsey Lohan out-acted Virginia Madsen and Tommy Lee Jones, who were as wooden as I've ever seen them.

Go ahead, fellow movie snobs who loved this movie (and I know you're out there): defend it. I triple-dog dare you.














Oh, and Meyrl Streep wasn't bad, but if she gets an Oscar nomination for this, I'm going to scream.

[youthere]

1. That's a horrible thing to say...

about a pile of stinky dog turd.

I'm a huge fan of the show and I absolutely HATED that movie. Dreadful.
To call it boring would be reaching. This is the stuff that puts boring to sleep.

[NewWaveChick1981]

2. My husband was foaming at the mouth to see the movie when it

was first released, and for some reason he never got around to it. He wants it on DVD now. I have told him to rent it before buying because it might suck (which I thought it might when I heard it was coming). He loves A Prairie Home Companion. I, however, do not. :P

I appreciate the review and will pass the info to him. :)

[Pale Blue Dot]

5. Warning: If you hate the radio show

there is absolutely no reason for you to see the movie. You may even hate it worse than I did.

[NewWaveChick1981]

6. I figured as much.

Thank you for the heads up. :hug:

[Elidor]

9. I think the radio show is the perfect soporific

It also makes great background noise as long as you're not working. There's something so soothing about Keillor's voice. This guy has gotten rich just because people relax hearing the sound of his voice. The stuff he says means nothing, and you need never pay any attention to any of it. Not even full consciousness is required to enjoy it.

[Flaxbee]

13. yes, he has a lovely voice, but he's got to do something about

those noisy inhalations. His nose whistles every time he breathes in and it grosses me out. Sorry, Garrison. Blow your nose, please.

[crim son]

3. I am so glad to know I'm not the only one!

Until I read this, I believed I was utterly devoid of culture and understanding. Whew!

[PennyK]

4. I pretty much agree

I was truly disappointed by this movie. My 20 year old daughter, who is only vaguely acquainted with the show, loved it (maybe because she hasn't seen as many films as me). I love Garrison Keillor, and I think that Robert Altman was truly talented, but I think that this project was a big mistake.

[grasswire]

7. the 4th of July special on PBS was better than the movie

I just watched the movie on Friday. It had some good moments and a lot of awful filler. Some of the dialogue felt as if they were improvising most of the time.

Who wrote the script?

[Writer]

8. I was crawling out of my bucket seat at the theater during that one.

Oh GOD was it horrible! Too much folksy gospel music, too little comedy and PLOT. :cry:

[tigereye]

10. I liked it - because I didn't have any expectations

it had that noisy, disjointed Altman vibe that I love and almost a Lynchian detachment.... I also liked the dialogue between Streep (loved how silly she was) and Tomlin - they were a fun pair. And Woody Harrelson was fun as a singing cowboy.

I agree that Madsen and Jones were too woodenly allegorical, but I think the whole thing was meant to be oddly allegorical.

[mitchum]

11. I call it the Altman Paradox...

he made either some of the best movies I have ever seen (McCabe & Mrs Miller, California Split, Nashville) or some of the absolutely worst (The Player, Vincent and Theo, Streamers)
I have never seen a middling or "somewhat flawed" Altman film. They are either brilliant or absolute dreck.

syn: The Coen Paradox

[ThomCat]

12. I thought Lohan sucked horribly.

Her acting was totally amateurish. You're right that the characters were undeveloped.

I wish they had developed a storyline that didn't involve an angel walking through. That just added a layer of nonsense that ruined any real chance the movie had.

Most of the music was good, and those weren't actors. Those were the mostly the real musicians used for the radio show.

Did anyone else think that Woody and his partner were clearly and obviously a couple?