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Best in Show Movie Review

Best in Show is a 2000 mockumentary comedy film directed by Christopher Guest and starring Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard and Jane Lynch among others. It’s a hilarious movie.

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“This is my euphemism, Stefan“

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It follows the interactions among the various dog owners and handlers, as they travel to the dog show and then compete during the show. As a dog owner myself, I personally found the film’s portrayal of these dog owners certainly a bit over-the-top, but hilariously (and sadly) believable for the most part. The talking to/with the dogs, the constant showering them with attention, the cheesy ways they praise the dogs and so on. All of it was true, and thus all the funnier for it.

The movie’s biggest strength lies in its characters. It features a variety of colorful, all very amusing personalities. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are a lot of fun, and I loved that their dog won as this Norwich Terrier was absolutely adorable. Scott and Stefan are a campy gay couple, and they are so funny with their over-the-top line delivery, movie references and gay jokes. They exuded a lot of theatrical energy to the movie.

I also liked seeing a lesbian couple here, especially when you got these two amazing performers – Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch – playing them. Lynch is her usual confident, bitchy self, and her interactions with Coolidge are phenomenal. Jennifer is even funnier, the scene with her very old partner at the beginning was so damn funny, and her delivery is top-notch throughout. Fred Willard is probably the funniest one of the bunch. Him annoying his co-host never got old, his coarse, blunt statements and observations were consistently amusing, and the interactions between the two made me laugh throughout how uncomfortable those were.

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Best in Show is also very well paced, though admittedly some parts in the second act aren’t as great as others, but most of it is fantastic, and the movie flies by how short and fun it is. It features the type of observational, smart humor that I just love, and the performances are all truly phenomenal. The direction from Christopher Guest is also excellent as is the movie’s superbly utilized mockumentary format.

Best in Show is such a funny movie. It manages to wring the maximum amount of humor from its dog show setup. Many of the observational, blunt lines of dialogue are hilarious here, especially the coarse hosting of the show by terrific Fred Willard. Other standouts include John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, and especially Jennifer Coolidge who is phenomenal throughout. It’s such a clever, priceless comedy bolstered by a superbly utilized mockumentary format.

My Rating – 4.5