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#Christopher Guest: Every Great Mockumentary, Ranked

“Christopher Guest: Every Great Mockumentary, Ranked”

Writer/director/actor Christopher Guest has been delighting audiences for decades. His mockumentaries become instant classics upon each release. Guest began his career as an actor in the early 1970s, but he didn’t have a hit until he starred in the 1984 film This is Spinal Tap. His character, Tufnel, originated on The TV Show, a sketch comedy show that aired in 1978.



The same year that This is Spinal Tap was released, Guest joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. He was part of a group of comedians who were hired for the 1984-85 season, including Billy Crystal, Harry Shearer, and Martin Short. Guest rounded out the 1980s with appearances in The Princess Bride and The Little Shop of Horrors. He also co-wrote and directed the Hollywood satire The Big Picture.

In the 1990s, Guest began making his great mockumentaries. He was influenced by This is Spinal Tap and its director Rob Reiner in that the films he wrote, directed, and acted in from 1996 onward were largely improvised. He came up with the storylines and set the scene but let his actors explore their characters within the framework of the story. This practice led to his films being referred to as mockumentaries.

Guest frequently works with his writing partner Eugene Levy and casts the same group of actors and actresses in his films including Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Begley, Jr., Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban, Harry Shearer, John Michael Higgins, Jim Piddock, and Fred Willard. During filming, Guest and Levy create backgrounds for the characters and notes for each scene that outline the plot, and then he steps behind the camera, gets it rolling, and lets his actors make magic. All five of the feature length films and one series on this list have been made using this process.

6 Family Tree

In 2013, HBO and BBC aired Family Tree, an eight-episode story written by Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock, and starring Chris O’Dowd and Nina Conti (with guest appearances from Guest and his usual mer​​​​​​​r​​​​​​​y band of actor​​​​​​​s, including Michael McKean, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, and Ed Begley Jr.). Family Tree is about the unattached, 30-year-old Tom Chadwick who has lost his sense of self after a bad break-up. When he receives a box of family mementos from a distant relative he’s never met, he’s inspired to investigate his family tree.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

5 A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind is Christopher Guest’s 2003 movie about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk music bands reunite fo the first time in decades to perfor​​​​​​​m a televised concert. Guest also composed all the music in the film, and co-wrote the movie with Eugene Levy. A Mighty Wind parodies the folk music revival of the early 1960s, specifically the interesting and colorful personalities involved in that movement. The film stars many of Guest’s usual suspects including Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Fred Willard, Harry Shearer, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Ed Begley Jr., John Michael Higgins, and Bob Balaban.

RELATED: These Are 5 of the Best Mockumentaries

4 For Your Consideration

Christopher Guest co-wrote 2006’s For Your Consideration with Eugene Levy. Both men star in the film about a group of actors who find out the film they are still shooting is generating a lot of awards season buzz. The film is a drama set in the South in the 1940s called Home for Purim. The title of the film is what the entertainment industry uses when promoting films for the Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, or Golden Globe Awards. The film stars Guest’s group of actors as well as Ricky Gervais, Larry Miller, John Krasinski, Richard Kind, and Sandra Oh.

3 Waiting For Guffman

Christopher Guest debuted Waiting for Guffman in 1996. He co-wrote it with Eugene Levy. The title is a play on Samuel Beckett’s famous existential story Waiting for Godot. In the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri good intentioned residents are preparing for a community theater production chronicling the history of the town on the 150th anniversary of its founding. The musical is called Red, White, and Blaine. Guest plays the director of the play. Waiting for Guffman stars Guest’s usual actors like the great Parker Posey, as well as Lewis Arquette, Matt Keeslar, David Cross, Brian Doyle-Murray.

RELATED: Christopher Guest Reveals Real-Life Inspiration Behind Spinal Tap

2 Mascots

Mascots premiered on Netflix in 2016. Christopher Guest wrote the film with Jim Piddock. He directed it and reprised his role of Corky St. Clair from Waiting For Guffman. This mockumentary is set at the world mascot championships where several mascots compete for the coveted Golden Fluffy Award. Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Ed Begley Jr, Bob Balaban, Christopher Moynihan, Chris O’Dowd, and Zach Woods star.

1 Best in Show

Best in Show is not just a mockumentary, it is a comedic masterpiece. Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy co-wrote the film set in the world of dog show competitions. This 2000 film is about five dogs and their owners/handlers who travel to Philadelphia to compete in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, much like the annual Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s annual Thanksgiving Day dog show. Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Fred Willard Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr. and the rest of the cast are at their improvisational best in this mockumentary.

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