For Your Consideration

So, you are making a low budget film on a crowded Hollywood studio when word leaks out through the Internet that maybe, just maybe, your little film and the performers in it could generate some serious Oscar buzz come awards season. How would you react? How would your life and your relationships change?

That’s the question posed in “For You Consideration”, the latest film from actor/director/writer/composer Christopher Guest. Guest fans rest assured, he has assembled his hilarious cast of talented regulars—Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Jane Lynch, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, and others.

The film centers on the making of a low budget film, “Home for Purim.” Marilyn Hack (O’Hara) and Victor Allan Miller (Shearer) are the lead actors in the film, a Southern drama about a Jewish family coping with the imminent death of the mother.

[ What is Purim? Answer ]

One day on the set, the film’s lighting guy mentions to Hack that someone was spreading the rumor on the internet that her performance may result in an Oscar nomination. This of course shocks her, and she doesn’t believe it. So she sends the film’s PR guy Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins in a wonderful performance) to investigate these rumors. The rumors spread like wildfire and eventual consume everyone on set. A popular “Access Hollywood”-type show picks up on the rumors, and eventually all of Hollywood is gushing over the little movie.

The content of “For Your Consideration” is what you might expect from a Christopher Guest film. There is one use of the F-word and a couple of uses of the Lord’s name in vain. Other than that, the language is kept to a minimum. There are a few sexually-related jokes or comments, nothing too strong or offensive. The dying woman’s daughter in “Home for Purim” is a lesbian and brings her lover home for, well, Purim, but there is no sexual or physical activity between them. The only other content worth noting is the abundance of cleavage bared by the film’s various female stars. It actually is sort of ridiculous how it’s present in many scenes. I wouldn’t recommend this film for children or younger teenagers, but most will not likely be interested in the film anyway.

“For Your Consideration” may not be the best Christopher Guest film (that award would go to “Waiting for Guffman,” in my opinion), but it is a very funny film. It also contains a surprising sentimental side at the end of the film, as the characters get swept up in believing the hype and seemingly set themselves up for disappointment. The scenes dealing with the Jewish holiday of Purim are interesting, and the corresponding story involving the deliverance of the Jewish nation from Haman’s plot in the book of Esther makes for a surprising insertion of a Bible story into the film. But would I recommend it be seen in theaters? Honestly, no. If you are Guest fans, and I suppose even if you aren’t, you will likely enjoy the film, but I’d suggest you save your money and rent it; the film only runs about 86 minutes and ends kind of abruptly. But if you are searching for something light-hearted and fun to see in theaters, I guess you could do much worse. I’d give “For Your Consideration” a “B.”

Violence: None / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

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