Waiting For Guffman
Its cast of actors have appeared in a series of Guest-directed mockumentaries.
The title, but not the plot, is a play on the title of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.
Plot
The movie is a loving parody of community theater set in the small town of Blaine, Missouri. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of a handful of utterly delusional residents as they prepare to put on a community theater production led by eccentric director Corky St.
The show, a musical chronicling the town's history, titled Red, White and Blaine, is to be performed as part of the town's 150th anniversary celebration.
Along with Guest, the film stars Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard as Ron and Sheila Albertson, a pair of married travel agents (yet have never traveled outside of Blaine) who are also regular amateur performers, and give their companions a little too much information at a restaurant dinner; Parker Posey as the perpetual Dairy Queen employee Libby Mae Brown; Bob Balaban as Lloyd Miller, the increasingly frustrated musical director who actually possesses some talent; Lewis Arquette as Clifford Wooley, a "long time Blaineian" and retired taxidermist who is "Red, White and Blaine's" bean-loving narrator; Matt Keeslar as the handsome and oblivious mechanic Johnny Savage whose Corky goes out of his way to get into the play; and Eugene Levy as Dr. Alan Pearl, a tragically square dentist determined to discover his inner entertainer.
Brian Doyle-Murray appears briefly as Savage's dad and boss who is immediately suspicious of Corky's eccentric behavior. One of the film's funniest segments is during the auditions, as various townspeople compete for coveted roles in the production.
Corky has presumably used connections gained from his "off-off-off-off" Broadway past to invite Mort Guffman, a Broadway producer, to critique "Red, White and Blaine".
Blaine's founding father was apparently a buffoon incapable of distinguishing the geography of middle Missouri and the Pacific coastline. We also learn why the town refers to itself rather obtusely as "the stool capital of the United States." The music contained within is a series of grating and poorly performed songs such as "Nothing Ever Happens on Mars," - a reference to the town's supposed visit by a UFO - and "Stool Boom".
The DVD contains "This Bulging River" and "Nothing Ever Happens in Blaine," which were edited from the cinema release.
Central to the film are Corky St. When Johnny Savage is forced by his suspicious father (Brian Doyle-Murray) to quit the show, Corky takes over his roles, which were clearly intended for a young, masculine actor: a lusty young frontiersman, a heartbroken soldier, and a little boy wearing a beanie and shorts.
Clair never sheds his dainty demeanor, lisp or earring in spite of his historical roles, and his face is pasted with an overkill of stage rouge and eyeliner. But the distraught cast and persuasive city fathers convince Corky to return to the show (to the disappointment of Lloyd Miller, who had taken over in Corky's absence).
Unfortunately for the cast and crew of "Red, White and Blaine," Guffman never shows up, because his flight was canceled due to bad weather.
After the show, the man informs the cast that he is in town to see his niece's first baby, but that he really enjoyed the show. Corky then reads a note he had been belatedly given that Guffman wouldn't be able to make the show.
An epilogue shows the fates of the cast: While Libby Mae has returned yet again to the Dairy Queen, Dr.
Pearl and the Albertsons have both pursued their dreams of being entertainers: Ron and Shelia travel to Hollywood to work as extras, and Dr.