Last Laugh

Comic geniuses: From left, director Christopher Guest, actor/screenwriter Eugene Levy and actress Catherine O'Hara at the For Your Consideration press conference. (Donald Weber/Getty Images)

The Sutton Place Hotel is currently hosting as many dignitaries as poker night at Buckingham Palace, but the royalty before me are film comedy’s blue bloods. The members of what I call the Christopher Guest Company have been involved in some of the most chuckle-worthy cultural products of our generation: The Simpsons, This is Spinal Tap, American Pie, SCTV, Seinfeld, The 40-Year-Old Virgin — plus, collectively, a revered troika of mockumentaries (an assignation they dislike, by the way): Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. Smart adult comedy is as rare as an honest Hollywood agent (more on that later), but Guest and Co. have been purveyors of exactly that for some time now.

The reverence they are accorded by the press conference moderator — Toronto Star film writer Peter Howell — goes some way in explaining the strength of their oeuvre, and the reception to their latest offering, For Your Consideration. A broad satire of the Hollywood machinery behind the “awards buzz” phenomenon and the first proper “narrative” from the writing combo of Guest and Eugene Levy, For Your Consideration has garnered something close to universal critical acclaim at this year’s festival.

The panel is a feast for the film geek’s eyes. Maybe I’m imagining it, but I can sense the camaraderie. The core ensemble is all in attendance: Guest and Levy are joined by Catherine O’ Hara, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard and Bob Balaban. They babble to each other during the photo ops — in the exaggerated, stentorian tone of longtime stage hams — and I sit back and wait for the yuks to begin.

The moderator is pleasantly surprised that the whole company found the time to make it to the premiere. It’s a rarity for such a large cast. Howell believes this speaks to their genuine affection for the material and for one another.

“That,” says Shearer, “and someone paid to send us here.”

They touch on the contentious question about the mockumentary style. Guest, who is prickly at the best of times, looks positively irritated. “Well, I would say that the previous three films used a documentary format, and this time we decided to make narrative film. That gets that out the way.”

As for their films’ subject matter —a community theatre company in Guffman, the world of dog shows in Best in Show and a folk music reunion concert in A Mighty Wind — how do they decide on what topic to skewer? “I don’t look at it as a skewering situation,” says Guest. “It either comes to me or not. We threw out the Western idea, and then the medieval idea. We thought the clothing was funny. It wasn’t so funny the second day.”

Director Christopher Guest. (Donald Weber/Getty Images)

Running an ensemble cast of this size and pedigree must be a juggling act. How does Guest decide on screen time, who plays what role and why? “We pick screen time out of a hat. No — Eugene and I, when we write these parts, they’re made for these actors. It’s not arbitrary. They’re written characters in the sense that we’ve created them, but the dialogue is improvised.” As far as I understand it, Guest and Levy provide extensive back stories for the characters, and the performers build the dialogue from there.

Do members of the company lobby for roles? “If lobbying means money, then yes,” says Guest.

“You wait, and you hope for Chris to call,” says Shearer, in a tone that suggests he knew that Chris would call. This segues into a conversation on the immense difficulty involved in filming comedy — a difficulty none of the stars seem to take particularly seriously.

“Comedy: a lot of good people working hard,” says Guest. “But you do need to be disciplined. It’s not really a party atmosphere.”

“Stuff gets done, and we’ve got it down to a fine science,” adds Levy.

“We’re there for the single purpose of telling the story — and not competing for laughs. You have to believe these people,” says Shearer.

At this point, a cell phone on silent mode disrupts the speaker feed, resulting in an uncomfortably pitched squawking.

“They can put a man on the moon…” says McKean.

“... but they can’t take him off,” finishes Shearer. This is like dinner theatre in the Catskills.

Once the party is opened to those of us on the floor, the questions get curiously existential as an Italian journalist addresses the director. (Italian journalists seem to only address directors; they seem to be committed auteur theorists.) “The characters — is very alone. Is this the reality for all the actor? They are also so much the egotist.” This is less a question than a statement.

Guest looks bemused. “The egotist? I think their behavior would seem like that, but it’s really the opposite of that — there’s this incredible lack of self-esteem. They’re deluded.”

“But why?” pleads the Italian journo.

“But why?” asks Guest. “You’d have to ask a doctor about this.”

What about the profusion of sleazy characters? Is this an accurate representation of the Hollywood snakepit? “Well,” says Levy, slowly, “I think there are people like this in this industry.”

“You think?” asks Guest.

“My character is not based on any one person,” says Levy of the ultra-unctuous agent Morley Orfkin. “He’s not an impersonation of anyone, although I have come into contact with agents in the past who have recited the very lines I say in the movie. I, of course, try to lower the bar as much as I can, but it’s not quite low enough much of the time.”

As for the Oscar buzz that may, ironically, be afforded a satirical film about Oscar buzz, will the filmmakers take out a For Your Consideration advertisement in Variety magazine?

This question is deftly sidestepped. “I’ve asked Chris if he’s wearing a single- or double-breasted tux,” says McKean.

I’m not sure it’s wise to crown a fool. It takes away his edge. Selfishly, I can’t help hoping that this particular royal family keeps to the margins. Their self-effacement is their greatest strength.

Richard Poplak is a writer based in Toronto.

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