For Your Consideration | |
---|---|
Directed by | Christopher Guest |
Written by | Christopher Guest Eugene Levy |
Produced by | Karen Murphy |
Starring | Bob Balaban Jennifer Coolidge Christopher Guest John Michael Higgins Eugene Levy Jane Lynch Michael McKean Catherine O'Hara Parker Posey Harry Shearer Fred Willard |
Cinematography | Roberto Schaefer |
Edited by | Robert Leighton |
Music by | C. J. Vanston |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Warner Independent Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $12 million [1] |
Box office | $5.9 million [1] |
For Your Consideration is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, and both also star in the film. The film's title is a phrase used in trade advertisements to promote films for honors such as the Academy Awards. The plot revolves around a group of three actors who learn that their performances in the fictional film they have not even completed yet, Home for Purim, a drama set in the mid-1940s American South, are supposedly generating a great deal of award-season buzz.
Many of the cast who have appeared in Guest's previous films Waiting for Guffman , Best in Show , and A Mighty Wind including Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Fred Willard, Larry Miller, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., Michael Hitchcock, John Michael Higgins, and Jim Piddock. Ricky Gervais, the co-creator of the original British television series The Office, also appears, while Paul Dooley, John Krasinski, Richard Kind, Scott Adsit, and Sandra Oh make brief cameos. Though the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors as in Guest's earlier films, the format is a departure from the mockumentary style.
The film received its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2006. [2] It was produced by Warner Independent Pictures in association with Castle Rock Entertainment and Shangri-La Entertainment.
The film follows the production of Home for Purim, a low-budget drama film about a Jewish family in the southern United States in the 1940s. The cast consists of character actress Marilyn Hack as the family's dying matriarch; veteran actor turned kosher hot dog mascot Victor Allen Miller as her husband; ingénue Callie Webb as their lesbian daughter, whose return home with her girlfriend serves as the driving plot of Home for Purim; and Brian Chubb, who is dating Webb, as their son.
The film's director constantly incorporates bizarre camera shots and acting notes, while the producer, heiress to a diaper service, knows nothing about producing films. The two screenwriters are at odds with the director, as they struggle to align the film's period Southern setting with incongruous Jewish references and words.
When an unattributed rumor begins to circulate that Hack, Miller, and Webb are likely to receive Oscar nominations for the film, each begins obsessing about the award. Hack pretends not to care while secretly pining for the award, Miller demands a higher salary and pushes his agent for more dignified work, and Webb breaks up with Chubb. Later, the hosts of entertainment news program Hollywood Now visit the set and interview the cast.
The studio intervenes in the production of Home for Purim and, deeming the film to be "too Jewish," re-title it Home for Thanksgiving. Despite this, the Oscar buzz around the film intensifies, and the three prospective nominees begin to make press appearances to promote the film. Miller appears on a hip-hop teen show called Chillaxin' in youthful attire with capped teeth, a tan, and dyed blonde hair. Hack gets breast implants and extensive plastic surgery to the point where her face is comically ecstatic. Webb goes on a shock jock radio show, only to field questions exclusively about her nude scenes.
The Academy Award nominations are announced, and only Chubb (who sleeps through the morning of the announcement) is nominated. Miller returns to auditioning for commercials. Webb attempts to revive her failed one-woman show, No Penis Intended. Hack makes a drunken rant on Hollywood Now and becomes an acting teacher, having uncomfortably made peace with her mediocre career.
Based on 162 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 52% of critics gave For Your Consideration a positive review, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The critical consensus reads: "As the object of satire gets bigger the jokes become thinner, and Christopher Guest isn't as droll or insightful here than when he was lampooning smaller subjects." [3] Leonard Maltin gave the film three stars, describing it as "uncanny in its dead-on parodies of TV and radio talk shows and other follies of show business”. [4]
Catherine O'Hara won the National Board of Review's Best Supporting Actress award and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Female Lead. [5] O'Hara's performance earned many good reviews, spurring for a short time rumors that, in an ironic twist, she could be nominated for an Academy Award. [6] In the end, the film did not receive any Academy Award nominations.
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest, known professionally as Christopher Guest, is a British-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. Guest has written, directed, and starred in his series of comedy films shot in mockumentary style. He wrote and acted in the rock satire This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and later directed a string of satirical mockumentary films such as Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016).
Gosford Park is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film, which is influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic The Rules of the Game, follows a party of wealthy Britons plus an American producer, and their servants, who gather for a shooting weekend at Gosford Park, an English country house. A murder occurs after a dinner party, and the film goes on to present the subsequent investigation from the servants' and guests' perspectives.
Catherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is known for her comedy work on Second City Television (1976–1984) and Schitt's Creek (2015–2020) and in films such as After Hours (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Her other film appearances include the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest: Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006).
Eugene Levy is a Canadian actor and comedian. Known for portraying flustered and unconventional figures, Levy has won multiple accolades throughout his career including four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2011, and was made Companion of the Order of Canada in 2022.
A Mighty Wind is a 2003 American mockumentary comedy film about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. Co-written, directed, and composed by Christopher Guest, the film is widely acknowledged to reference folk music producer Harold Leventhal as the inspiration for the character of Irving Steinbloom and more broadly parodies the American folk music revival of the early 1960s and its personalities. The film stars Guest and Levy alongside Bob Balaban, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer and Fred Willard.
Best in Show is a 2000 American mockumentary comedy film co-written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy and directed by Guest. The film follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show as they travel to and compete at the show, and stars Guest and Levy alongside Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, and Parker Posey.
Waiting for Guffman is a 1996 American mockumentary comedy film written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, and directed by Guest. The film's ensemble cast includes Guest, Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban and Parker Posey.
Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album Miss America, released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a contributor to compilation albums and as a guest collaborator on other artists' albums.
Emily Olivia Laura Blunt is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and four British Academy Film Awards. Forbes ranked her as one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2020.
The Last Polka is a 1985 comedy television film. It was written by and starred John Candy and Eugene Levy, and directed by John Blanchard.
Robert Elmer Balaban is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gosford Park (2001), in which he also appeared. He is also an author of children's novels.
Jim Piddock is an English actor, producer and writer who began his career on the stage in the United Kingdom before immigrating to the United States in 1981.
Daniel Joseph Levy is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a television host on MTV Canada. He received international prominence and critical acclaim for starring as David Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), which he co-created and co-starred in with his father, Eugene Levy.
The Late Shift is a 1996 American made-for-television biographical film directed by Betty Thomas, and written by New York Times media reporter Bill Carter and George Armitage. Released by HBO Pictures and produced in conjunction with Northern Lights Entertainment, the film premiered on HBO on February 24, 1996.
Family Tree is a mockumentary television comedy created by Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock. The series premiered on 12 May 2013, on the American pay television network HBO, and appeared on the British channel BBC Two in July 2013. Guest, Piddock, Karen Murphy, Deborah Oppenheimer, and Mario Stylianides serve as the show's executive producers.
Schitt's Creek is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread over six seasons. Produced by Not a Real Company Productions and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, it follows the trials and tribulations of the formerly wealthy Rose family. After their business manager embezzles the family business, Rose Video, the family loses its fortune and relocates to Schitt's Creek, a town they once purchased as a joke. Now living in a motel, Johnny and Moira — along with their adult offspring, David and Alexis — must adjust to life without wealth.
Nothing Personal is a 1980 Canadian-American romantic comedy film starring Suzanne Somers and Donald Sutherland. Sutherland plays a professor who objects to the killing of baby seals. Somers, a Harvard-educated attorney, tries to aid him.
Mascots is a 2016 mockumentary comedy film directed by Christopher Guest, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jim Piddock. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Ed Begley Jr., Christopher Moynihan, Don Lake, Zach Woods, Chris O'Dowd, Michael Hitchcock, Bob Balaban, and Jennifer Coolidge.
Moira Rose is a fictional character in the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek, which aired on CBC and Pop from 2015 to 2020. Moira is introduced as the eccentric former soap opera star wife of Johnny Rose and mother of their adult children, David and Alexis. She is often portrayed as the family member most resistant to life in Schitt's Creek – viewing their loss of fortune as temporary. In later seasons, Moira's story becomes more community-oriented as she forms closer relationships with the townspeople.
Little Vegas is a 1990 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Perry Lang and starring Anthony Denison, Catherine O'Hara and Lang.