list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around A Prairie Home Companion on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/A_Prairie_Home_Companion/265001/default.aspx Title: A Prairie Home Companion
Year: 2006
Director: Robert Altman
Plot: Acclaimed filmmaker Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville) brings National Public Radio stalwart Garrison Keillor's long-running radio program to vivid life on the big screen in a intricately woven backstage fable centering on the final performance of a fictionalized version of his variety show. As if the result of some strange mass-media fluke, the popular radio program A Prairie Home Companion somehow managed to survive the television age to entertain its audience every Saturday night from the stage of the historic Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN. Week after week, hangdog host Garrison Keillor serves as unflappable emcee to an amiable hodgepodge of radio-friendly acts that include the likes of popular country duo Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin) and singing cowboys the Old Trailhands (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly). This is one show where the under-the-line antics are nearly as entertaining as the program itself, though, and in between the efforts of down-on-his-luck private dick and backstage doorkeeper Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) to discover the true identity of a mysterious blonde (Virginia Madsen) and aspiring teen singer Lola (Lindsay Lohan) to find her true voice before a live audience, there's still plenty of fun and mystery to be had at the old Fitzgerald before the final curtain falls on A Prairie Home Companion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 40
Number of Lists: 20
Number of blog posts: 6
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:33:26 GMTA Prairie Home Companion2006Robert AltmanAcclaimed filmmaker <a href="/players/P____79456/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Altman</a> (<a href=/films/82903/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Short Cuts</a>, <a href=/films/24112/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Nashville</a>) brings National Public Radio stalwart Garrison Keillor's long-running radio program to vivid life on the big screen in a intricately woven backstage fable centering on the final performance of a fictionalized version of his variety show. As if the result of some strange mass-media fluke, the popular radio program <i>A Prairie Home Companion</i> somehow managed to survive the television age to entertain its audience every Saturday night from the stage of the historic Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN. Week after week, hangdog host Garrison Keillor serves as unflappable emcee to an amiable hodgepodge of radio-friendly acts that include the likes of popular country duo Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (<a href="/players/P____68676/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Meryl Streep</a> and <a href="/players/P___114336/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lily Tomlin</a>) and singing cowboys the Old Trailhands (<a href="/players/P____30548/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Woody Harrelson</a> and John C. Reilly). This is one show where the under-the-line antics are nearly as entertaining as the program itself, though, and in between the efforts of down-on-his-luck private dick and backstage doorkeeper Guy Noir (<a href="/players/P____38699/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Kevin Kline</a>) to discover the true identity of a mysterious blonde (<a href="/players/P____44539/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Virginia Madsen</a>) and aspiring teen singer Lola (<a href="/players/P___241579/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lindsay Lohan</a>) to find her true voice before a live audience, there's still plenty of fun and mystery to be had at the old Fitzgerald before the final curtain falls on <i>A Prairie Home Companion</i>. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide40Tag Target (>10)2063http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t85359t1ovg.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/A_Prairie_Home_Companion/265001/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/4/37978.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/4/2008 9:01:01 PM
Body: Garrison Keillor’s sleepy-voiced radio monologues from the A Prairie Home Companion radio show might be the only way you know the native Minnesotan, but he’s also an author of more than 17 books. He’s published numerous short stories and poems since being published in the New Yorker in 1970, he hosts A Writer’s Almanac daily on NPR stations around the country, and posts regularly to his blog on the Prairie Home website. He’s also a daily columnist at Salon.com, which makes you wonder how he finds time for the rest of his life. But despite all the books he’s written, Keillor hasn’t had anything made into a movie. Robert Altman directed a fictional feature film version of A Prairie Home Companion, but to a Keillor fan it came off as more of a parody of the radio show than anything else. So where are the movies? Here’s a guide to the five Keillor books I’d really like to see on the big screen. WLT: A Radio Romance For some reason I’ve always been fascinated with old time radio shows. I have hours and hours of The Jack Benny Show on my computer, and I love the way they used to perform everything live, complete with a sound effects man to provide all the noises. Which is basically what A Prairie Home Companion is like. Keillor must be in love with that world as well, since WLT is about a radio station (originally set up to advertise sandwiches in a restaurant) that puts on dramas, comedies, reports the news, and covers sports in the 1920s/1930s. It’s full of broad comedy, but the ensemble cast and goofy situations are oddly charming. Think WKRP in Cincinatti during the Great Depression. The Book of Guys This is a book aimed squarely at middle aged men, and it seems perfect for a movie adaptation. After all, women get movies like Steel Magnolias and First Wives Club. But where are the movies about middle aged guys facing the reality of their lives? And if you say Wild Hogs, I will personally track you down and haunt your dreams. It can probably be argued that most movies are perfect for men of that age, but this book is filled with stories about men who are just trying to live normal lives, and learn how to deal with old age and women along the way. It’s often hilarious, plenty times poignant, and doesn’t get preachy or treacly. Lake Wobegon Days This is the one that started it all, and Keillor has now published seven Wobegon book, creating an entire wealth of information about a fictional town in Minnesota, complete with a huge cast of characters. It even landed him on the cover of Time in 1985, and that was just after the first book was published. The fact that it became such a runaway hit must mean that there a nostalgic yearning hidden in all of us that wants to turn to a simpler life and time. When I first started listening the “The News From Lake Wobegon” on Keillor’s radion show, I thought that it was something my grandparents would have been interested in. Then, somehow, it stuck, and I couldn’t get enough of it. This was when I was a college student living in Austin, spending my spare time partying and trying to see how much I could drink in one evening, which is quite a juxtaposition. Happy To Be Here This was actually the first book of Keillor’s that I ever read. I think I found it at a used bookstore in Texas, and recognized his name from the radio show. I didn’t want to be one of the bandwagoneers of Wobegon, so I avoided those books. Happy To Be Here is a collection of Keillor’s short form writing, but it’s full of gems like a WLT short story, “Jack Schmidt: Arts Administrator” which is a comic detective noir story about a government employee, and “The Drunkard’s Sunday.” A good writer could string most of these 29 short pieces into a funny script that focuses on the humor that exists in banal everyday life. The writing is as dry as you’ll encounter in The Onion, but it came out in 1982. Contrary to popular blogosphere belief systems, sarcasm did indeed exist before the internets were switched on. Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 Keillor left Lake Wobegon alone from 1989 until 1997 when he published Wobegon Boy, finally returning to the fictional city and its denizens. Although half of Wobegon Boy takes place in New York City, where the title character moves to after landing a job with National Public Radio. He returned to Wobegon again four years later with Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, which follows poor teenage Gary as he stumbles his way through a summer in Lake Wobegon. There’s a scene with his cousin Kate (who he has a giant crush on) in a bathroom stall that manages to cross a few lines while remaining funny. Think The Wonder Years, but set in the 1950s, and a little raunchier. That’s right, the guy who pushes Sleep Number Beds can be pretty raunchy from time to time, and he has quite a talent for writing about sex. Who knew? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:01:01 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/4/2008 9:01:01 PMGarrison Keillor’s sleepy-voiced radio monologues from the A Prairie Home Companion radio show might be the only way you know the native Minnesotan, but he’s also an author of more than 17 books. He’s published numerous short stories and poems since being published in the New Yorker in 1970, he hosts A Writer’s Almanac daily on NPR stations around the country, and posts regularly to his blog on the Prairie Home website. He’s also a daily columnist at Salon.com, which makes you wonder how he finds time for the rest of his life. But despite all the books he’s written, Keillor hasn’t had anything made into a movie. Robert Altman directed a fictional feature film version of A Prairie Home Companion, but to a Keillor fan it came off as more of a parody of the radio show than anything else. So where are the movies? Here’s a guide to the five Keillor books I’d really like to see on the big screen. WLT: A Radio Romance For some reason I’ve always been fascinated with old time radio shows. I have hours and hours of The Jack Benny Show on my computer, and I love the way they used to perform everything live, complete with a sound effects man to provide all the noises. Which is basically what A Prairie Home Companion is like. Keillor must be in love with that world as well, since WLT is about a radio station (originally set up to advertise sandwiches in a restaurant) that puts on dramas, comedies, reports the news, and covers sports in the 1920s/1930s. It’s full of broad comedy, but the ensemble cast and goofy situations are oddly charming. Think WKRP in Cincinatti during the Great Depression. The Book of Guys This is a book aimed squarely at middle aged men, and it seems perfect for a movie adaptation. After all, women get movies like Steel Magnolias and First Wives Club. But where are the movies about middle aged guys facing the reality of their lives? And if you say Wild Hogs, I will personally track you down and haunt your dreams. It can probably be argued that most movies are perfect for men of that age, but this book is filled with stories about men who are just trying to live normal lives, and learn how to deal with old age and women along the way. It’s often hilarious, plenty times poignant, and doesn’t get preachy or treacly. Lake Wobegon Days This is the one that started it all, and Keillor has now published seven Wobegon book, creating an entire wealth of information about a fictional town in Minnesota, complete with a huge cast of characters. It even landed him on the cover of Time in 1985, and that was just after the first book was published. The fact that it became such a runaway hit must mean that there a nostalgic yearning hidden in all of us that wants to turn to a simpler life and time. When I first started listening the “The News From Lake Wobegon” on Keillor’s radion show, I thought that it was something my grandparents would have been interested in. Then, somehow, it stuck, and I couldn’t get enough of it. This was when I was a college student living in Austin, spending my spare time partying and trying to see how much I could drink in one evening, which is quite a juxtaposition. Happy To Be Here This was actually the first book of Keillor’s that I ever read. I think I found it at a used bookstore in Texas, and recognized his name from the radio show. I didn’t want to be one of the bandwagoneers of Wobegon, so I avoided those books. Happy To Be Here is a collection of Keillor’s short form writing, but it’s full of gems like a WLT short story, “Jack Schmidt: Arts Administrator” which is a comic detective noir story about a government employee, and “The Drunkard’s Sunday.” A good writer could string most of these 29 short pieces into a funny script that focuses on the humor that exists in banal everyday life. The writing is as dry as you’ll encounter in The Onion, but it came out in 1982. Contrary to popular blogosphere belief systems, sarcasm did indeed exist before the internets were switched on. Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 Keillor left Lake Wobegon alone from 1989 until 1997 when he published Wobegon Boy, finally returning to the fictional city and its denizens. Although half of Wobegon Boy takes place in New York City, where the title character moves to after landing a job with National Public Radio. He returned to Wobegon again four years later with Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, which follows poor teenage Gary as he stumbles his way through a summer in Lake Wobegon. There’s a scene with his cousin Kate (who he has a giant crush on) in a bathroom stall that manages to cross a few lines while remaining funny. Think The Wonder Years, but set in the 1950s, and a little raunchier. That’s right, the guy who pushes Sleep Number Beds can be pretty raunchy from time to time, and he has quite a talent for writing about sex. Who knew? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/cinemarian/archive/2008/5/13/29033.aspx Post By: CinemaRian
Post To: CinemaRian Blog
Post Date: 5/13/2008 9:46:11 PM
Body: I was positive I was going to hate A Prairie Home Companion, because I was positive that Robert Altman, a director I have always found annoying, was going to ruin the greatness of the radio program. I was wrong. This is the best film I have seen so far this year and is Altman's best- yes better than Nashville and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. For those who are tragically unfamiliar with the source material, A Prairie Home Companion is an NPR radio variety show hosted and written by Garrison Keillor, who I believe is the greatest American humorist since Mark Twain. The show alternates between bluegrass music, phony commercials, a few comedy skits and always a weekly monologue from Keillor, "News from Lake Wobegon" where he describes the recent events in his fictitious hometown in Minnesota. The show is very funny, but also very beautiful- Lake Wobegon may very well be the most beautiful place on Earth. When I heard a film was going to be made from the show, I questioned how it was possible-the show has no story! Would it be an anthology made up of different sketches filmed? When I heard that Altman was directing the movie, I groaned. He seemed to be the worst possible pick for this material. Keillor's work is about family, faith, and small town Americana, whereas Altman's is usually a wannabe hipster desperately trying to be cool. In the end, the collaboration brings out the best in both of their work- Altman effectively translates Keillor's to the screen, giving it some structure, whereas Keillor gives Altman some real heart and interesting ideas. Set on the night of the final broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, the film follows several characters as they deal with the news. The most entertaining involves Guy Noir (wonderfully played by Kevin Kline) an incompetent detective who is who works as security at the theatre. Others involve a conflict between Lola (Lindsey Lohan) and her mother and aunt (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, respectively), bluegrass singers who are trying to get Lola to follow in their footsteps; the death of an old performer (L.Q. Jones); constant bickering between Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty, his cowboy singing partner (John C. Rielly), and the appearance of a mysterious stranger (Virginia Madsen). Everything in a movie that could have been a disaster works- even Lindsey Lohan, who proves that she is actually talented. The music in the film is great (the radio show's musicians, house singers and sound effects man play themselves, as well as Keillor), and the movie says a lot of about death and the ending of things (no joke-the final scene reminded me of the climax of The Seventh Seal). At times I had to fight so I didn't cry in the theatre. Altman has also by some miracle gotten rid of the most annoying aspects of his style- the non-stop, ugly zooms are mostly gone and the characters no longer seem to be in a contest to see who can be the most clever. This is a movie that is warm, funny, deep, moving, sad and happy, all at the same time. If you're a fan of the show or Keillor's writing like I am, you will not disappointed. If you are not, it's a perfect introduction. A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
]]>Wed, 14 May 2008 01:46:11 GMTCinemaRianCinemaRian Blog5/13/2008 9:46:11 PMI was positive I was going to hate A Prairie Home Companion, because I was positive that Robert Altman, a director I have always found annoying, was going to ruin the greatness of the radio program. I was wrong. This is the best film I have seen so far this year and is Altman's best- yes better than Nashville and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. For those who are tragically unfamiliar with the source material, A Prairie Home Companion is an NPR radio variety show hosted and written by Garrison Keillor, who I believe is the greatest American humorist since Mark Twain. The show alternates between bluegrass music, phony commercials, a few comedy skits and always a weekly monologue from Keillor, "News from Lake Wobegon" where he describes the recent events in his fictitious hometown in Minnesota. The show is very funny, but also very beautiful- Lake Wobegon may very well be the most beautiful place on Earth. When I heard a film was going to be made from the show, I questioned how it was possible-the show has no story! Would it be an anthology made up of different sketches filmed? When I heard that Altman was directing the movie, I groaned. He seemed to be the worst possible pick for this material. Keillor's work is about family, faith, and small town Americana, whereas Altman's is usually a wannabe hipster desperately trying to be cool. In the end, the collaboration brings out the best in both of their work- Altman effectively translates Keillor's to the screen, giving it some structure, whereas Keillor gives Altman some real heart and interesting ideas. Set on the night of the final broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, the film follows several characters as they deal with the news. The most entertaining involves Guy Noir (wonderfully played by Kevin Kline) an incompetent detective who is who works as security at the theatre. Others involve a conflict between Lola (Lindsey Lohan) and her mother and aunt (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, respectively), bluegrass singers who are trying to get Lola to follow in their footsteps; the death of an old performer (L.Q. Jones); constant bickering between Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty, his cowboy singing partner (John C. Rielly), and the appearance of a mysterious stranger (Virginia Madsen). Everything in a movie that could have been a disaster works- even Lindsey Lohan, who proves that she is actually talented. The music in the film is great (the radio show's musicians, house singers and sound effects man play themselves, as well as Keillor), and the movie says a lot of about death and the ending of things (no joke-the final scene reminded me of the climax of The Seventh Seal). At times I had to fight so I didn't cry in the theatre. Altman has also by some miracle gotten rid of the most annoying aspects of his style- the non-stop, ugly zooms are mostly gone and the characters no longer seem to be in a contest to see who can be the most clever. This is a movie that is warm, funny, deep, moving, sad and happy, all at the same time. If you're a fan of the show or Keillor's writing like I am, you will not disappointed. If you are not, it's a perfect introduction. A Prairie Home Companion (2006) http://www.spout.com/blogs/moviebabe/archive/2007/7/18/15274.aspx Post By: MovieBabe
Post To: MovieBabe Blog
Post Date: 7/18/2007 7:56:00 PM
Body: By Tricia Olszewski A Prairie Home Companion was created for—and by—the kind of people who still appreciate the olde-fashioned longing in lyrics such as “Come and sit by my side if you love me/Do not hasten to bid me adieu.” That couplet, from trad-folk number “Red River Valley,” closes the film, a reflection on nostalgia and the end of things beloved written by Garrison Keillor and directed by Robert Altman. From the former, you’d expect as much. From the latter, you have to wonder: Is this a part of the American experience he really needs to be bothering with? Based on Keillor’s identically titled and, at 31 years, still-running NPR program, the loose narrative involves the final episode of a modern-day radio variety show, touching on soured love affairs and unspooling a significant subplot about death. It’s impossible not to consider that this may be the 81-year-old Altman’s swan song, as well—Paul Thomas Anderson was, somewhat morbidly, contracted as a backup director. It’s also impossible not to imagine that the film seems so resonant partly because its themes have been running through the legend’s head for a while now—that he has, in fact, good reason to be bothering. “Every show is your last show—that’s my philosophy,” intones compulsive yarn-teller Keillor when a disbeliever blurts that this can’t really be the end. Indeed, the easily distracted G.K., as the self-portraying Keillor is nicknamed here, is unflappably matter-of-fact about the death of his show—and, later, the death of a performer—especially among the largely cooing cast and crew. Among the sentimental are the Lunch Lady (Marylouise Burke), who laments that she’s never going to see anyone again; sister act Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), who go on (and on) about the old times with the rest of their family, as Yolanda’s uninterested daughter, Lola (Lindsay Lohan, stepping up to the task) scribbles poems about suicide in her notebook; and hairdresser Donna (Sue Scott), who complains that without the program, radio will have officially gone to hell. Given the circumstances, Donna might as well be talking about society in general: The station that broadcasts the Companion, formerly family-run, has been bought by a corporation (represented by Tommy Lee Jones as hatchet man Axeman). The company plans to tear down Minnesota’s Fitzgerald Theater—where Keillor’s real show is performed—to make way for a parking lot. A Prairie Home Companion’s real message, however, isn’t that no one is promised another sunrise. It’s that endings ought not to be merely grieved but also welcomed as opportunities to remember the good times the expired person/job/activity provided. Maudlin? Maybe. But the film confines the sorrow to the backstage as, out front, we get a nearly real-time episode of the show. The performances, heavy on banjo-driven, Carter Family–style music and backed by Keillor’s own band, are jubilant, including the one by Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly), a singing-cowboy duo who giddily exchange terrible jokes while strumming their guitars. G.K. is impressive both for his banter, which includes between-song ads (the best is a rapturous ad-lib for duct tape), and for the seeming effortlessness with which he keeps the show moving regardless of what’s going on around him. Much of the film is classic Altman, including a camera that flows through walls and even a ceiling and conversations that overlap—though at times to a hair-pulling degree, especially between Yolanda and Lola, with Streep and Tomlin replicating their irritating version of the directorial trademark from this year’s Oscars. More successful is Kevin Kline as Guy Noir, a ’40s-style gumshoe complete with sharp suit and sharper dialogue who’s an imaginary character on the real PHC. Here, he’s a klutzy security guard with private-dick pretensions. His biggest oops is losing track of Dangerous Woman, who drifts around the staging area in a white trench coat. Played by Virginia Madsen, the character is initially more ponderous than mysterious, slowly delivering such eye-rolling lines as “Every sparrow is remembered.” She’s somewhat redeemed, however, when her reason for showing up is revealed and she tries to reverse the show’s prospects with a shocking yet arguably merited bit of advice to one of the characters. A Prairie Home Companion is an imperfect meditation, to be sure, but it’s also an exuberant one. It shouldn’t seem this fun. The film’s great achievement is that it makes you face the gloomiest facts of life head-on—and then lets you walk out with a smile. As swan songs go, it could be a lot worse. On the other side of the sentimentality spectrum is The Lake House, an atrocious romantic drama starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. It’s slow-moving, unengaging, and ultimately unsatisfying. Yet the movie should be recognized for its one dubious achievement: matching the manufactured preciousness of director Alejandro Agresti’s previous release, Valentín, a semiautobiographical tale about an 8-year-old boy who’s such a little man he bickers with his grandmother about the tailoring of his pant legs. The new movie’s story isn’t exactly original, but this time the director has someone besides himself to blame. A Korean film, Il Mare was the basis for Proof writer David Auburn’s screenplay about a couple who fall in love via a wrinkle in time. Kate (Bullock), a doctor, is moving out of her ridiculous glass-walled , uh, lake house to take a job at a Chicago hospital. She leaves a note for Alex (Reeves), the new resident, apologizing for a couple of inherited-with-the-house details and asking him to forward any mail to her new address. Alex writes Kate back—putting the letter in his mailbox, which is, God knows how, where Kate knows to look for it when she takes a drive back to the country on her day off. He says that he doesn’t see either of the things she’s mentioned. Eventually, they begin to bicker about which one of them is crazy, because their respective letters—always left in his mailbox—are dated wrong. Kate’s say 2006. Alex’s say 2004. So, naturally, they fall in love. Really, there’s no basis for their, um, long-distance romance besides the whoa-inducing realization that...they’re both right! Soon, each is asking about the other’s likes, which cringingly include stuff way too closely related to sunsets, puppies, and long walks on the beach. Meanwhile, they bemoan to themselves and others how isolated they’ve let themselves become. Kate plays chess with the dog. Alex, an architect like his father (Christopher Plummer), points out to his nearly purposeless brother (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) that the house we discover his pop built is just a glass box, completely disconnecting its occupant from the world. Agresti mostly has the characters communicate in voice-over as they pen their missives, but occasionally he’ll show them merely talking to each other, whether separately or, ghostlike, in the same place. It doesn’t matter—these long conversations are Snoozeville, often featuring lines like “I could be a shoulder for you like you’ve been for me” and such overly obvious musical cues as Paul McCartney’s “This Never Happened Before” and Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.” You’d do well to keep the latter in mind if you’re considering heading to the theater: In reality, you can’t travel through time to retrieve your $10.
]]>Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:56:00 GMTMovieBabeMovieBabe Blog7/18/2007 7:56:00 PM By Tricia Olszewski A Prairie Home Companion was created for&mdash;and by&mdash;the kind of people who still appreciate the olde-fashioned longing in lyrics such as &ldquo;Come and sit by my side if you love me/Do not hasten to bid me adieu.&rdquo; That couplet, from trad-folk number &ldquo;Red River Valley,&rdquo; closes the film, a reflection on nostalgia and the end of things beloved written by Garrison Keillor and directed by Robert Altman. From the former, you&rsquo;d expect as much. From the latter, you have to wonder: Is this a part of the American experience he really needs to be bothering with? Based on Keillor&rsquo;s identically titled and, at 31 years, still-running NPR program, the loose narrative involves the final episode of a modern-day radio variety show, touching on soured love affairs and unspooling a significant subplot about death. It&rsquo;s impossible not to consider that this may be the 81-year-old Altman&rsquo;s swan song, as well&mdash;Paul Thomas Anderson was, somewhat morbidly, contracted as a backup director. It&rsquo;s also impossible not to imagine that the film seems so resonant partly because its themes have been running through the legend&rsquo;s head for a while now&mdash;that he has, in fact, good reason to be bothering. &ldquo;Every show is your last show&mdash;that&rsquo;s my philosophy,&rdquo; intones compulsive yarn-teller Keillor when a disbeliever blurts that this can&rsquo;t really be the end. Indeed, the easily distracted G.K., as the self-portraying Keillor is nicknamed here, is unflappably matter-of-fact about the death of his show&mdash;and, later, the death of a performer&mdash;especially among the largely cooing cast and crew. Among the sentimental are the Lunch Lady (Marylouise Burke), who laments that she&rsquo;s never going to see anyone again; sister act Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), who go on (and on) about the old times with the rest of their family, as Yolanda&rsquo;s uninterested daughter, Lola (Lindsay Lohan, stepping up to the task) scribbles poems about suicide in her notebook; and hairdresser Donna (Sue Scott), who complains that without the program, radio will have officially gone to hell. Given the circumstances, Donna might as well be talking about society in general: The station that broadcasts the Companion, formerly family-run, has been bought by a corporation (represented by Tommy Lee Jones as hatchet man Axeman). The company plans to tear down Minnesota&rsquo;s Fitzgerald Theater&mdash;where Keillor&rsquo;s real show is performed&mdash;to make way for a parking lot. A Prairie Home Companion&rsquo;s real message, however, isn&rsquo;t that no one is promised another sunrise. It&rsquo;s that endings ought not to be merely grieved but also welcomed as opportunities to remember the good times the expired person/job/activity provided. Maudlin? Maybe. But the film confines the sorrow to the backstage as, out front, we get a nearly real-time episode of the show. The performances, heavy on banjo-driven, Carter Family&ndash;style music and backed by Keillor&rsquo;s own band, are jubilant, including the one by Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly), a singing-cowboy duo who giddily exchange terrible jokes while strumming their guitars. G.K. is impressive both for his banter, which includes between-song ads (the best is a rapturous ad-lib for duct tape), and for the seeming effortlessness with which he keeps the show moving regardless of what&rsquo;s going on around him. Much of the film is classic Altman, including a camera that flows through walls and even a ceiling and conversations that overlap&mdash;though at times to a hair-pulling degree, especially between Yolanda and Lola, with Streep and Tomlin replicating their irritating version of the directorial trademark from this year&rsquo;s Oscars. More successful is Kevin Kline as Guy Noir, a &rsquo;40s-style gumshoe complete with sharp suit and sharper dialogue who&rsquo;s an imaginary character on the real PHC. Here, he&rsquo;s a klutzy security guard with private-dick pretensions. His biggest oops is losing track of Dangerous Woman, who drifts around the staging area in a white trench coat. Played by Virginia Madsen, the character is initially more ponderous than mysterious, slowly delivering such eye-rolling lines as &ldquo;Every sparrow is remembered.&rdquo; She&rsquo;s somewhat redeemed, however, when her reason for showing up is revealed and she tries to reverse the show&rsquo;s prospects with a shocking yet arguably merited bit of advice to one of the characters. A Prairie Home Companion is an imperfect meditation, to be sure, but it&rsquo;s also an exuberant one. It shouldn&rsquo;t seem this fun. The film&rsquo;s great achievement is that it makes you face the gloomiest facts of life head-on&mdash;and then lets you walk out with a smile. As swan songs go, it could be a lot worse. On the other side of the sentimentality spectrum is The Lake House, an atrocious romantic drama starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. It&rsquo;s slow-moving, unengaging, and ultimately unsatisfying. Yet the movie should be recognized for its one dubious achievement: matching the manufactured preciousness of director Alejandro Agresti&rsquo;s previous release, Valent&iacute;n, a semiautobiographical tale about an 8-year-old boy who&rsquo;s such a little man he bickers with his grandmother about the tailoring of his pant legs. The new movie&rsquo;s story isn&rsquo;t exactly original, but this time the director has someone besides himself to blame. A Korean film, Il Mare was the basis for Proof writer David Auburn&rsquo;s screenplay about a couple who fall in love via a wrinkle in time. Kate (Bullock), a doctor, is moving out of her ridiculous glass-walled , uh, lake house to take a job at a Chicago hospital. She leaves a note for Alex (Reeves), the new resident, apologizing for a couple of inherited-with-the-house details and asking him to forward any mail to her new address. Alex writes Kate back&mdash;putting the letter in his mailbox, which is, God knows how, where Kate knows to look for it when she takes a drive back to the country on her day off. He says that he doesn&rsquo;t see either of the things she&rsquo;s mentioned. Eventually, they begin to bicker about which one of them is crazy, because their respective letters&mdash;always left in his mailbox&mdash;are dated wrong. Kate&rsquo;s say 2006. Alex&rsquo;s say 2004. So, naturally, they fall in love. Really, there&rsquo;s no basis for their, um, long-distance romance besides the whoa-inducing realization that...they&rsquo;re both right! Soon, each is asking about the other&rsquo;s likes, which cringingly include stuff way too closely related to sunsets, puppies, and long walks on the beach. Meanwhile, they bemoan to themselves and others how isolated they&rsquo;ve let themselves become. Kate plays chess with the dog. Alex, an architect like his father (Christopher Plummer), points out to his nearly purposeless brother (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) that the house we discover his pop built is just a glass box, completely disconnecting its occupant from the world. Agresti mostly has the characters communicate in voice-over as they pen their missives, but occasionally he&rsquo;ll show them merely talking to each other, whether separately or, ghostlike, in the same place. It doesn&rsquo;t matter&mdash;these long conversations are Snoozeville, often featuring lines like &ldquo;I could be a shoulder for you like you&rsquo;ve been for me&rdquo; and such overly obvious musical cues as Paul McCartney&rsquo;s &ldquo;This Never Happened Before&rdquo; and Carole King&rsquo;s &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Too Late.&rdquo; You&rsquo;d do well to keep the latter in mind if you&rsquo;re considering heading to the theater: In reality, you can&rsquo;t travel through time to retrieve your $10. http://www.spout.com/blogs/jenn/archive/2007/2/26/5785.aspx Post By: Jenn
Post To: Jenn Blog
Post Date: 2/26/2007 9:48:59 AM
Body: I did not however enjoy the movie. Robert Altman captured my sentiments exactly when in the commentary near the end of the film, he starts to yawn incessantly because he's bored. He actually questions and hopes that audiences watching the film don't get bored as well. He knows it's bad. He's done some really amazing films. Surely he knew when to stop the movie or how to make it better but was bound and gagged during filming and editing. I love Garrison's antics, stories, and quirky songs. I love all of it, but he was missing too much in the film. Perhaps Keven Kline starring as Guy Noir was chosen to be the predominant actor (and narrator) because they thought he'd be funny in a quirky almost handsome sort of way. Perhaps Garrison didn't want the 'lead' or wasn't comfortable with the acting bit having been on radio his whole (most?) career. Unfortunately Kevin isn't all that funny - though I adored him in a Fish Called Wanda, the other actors clearly carried that film. If only they did truly write the show about how our culture has changed and perhaps shown direct comparison to today's interests and how PHC is so different yet loved so much by diverse audiences. Perhaps there was a whole plot twist casting Lindsey Lohan in the film, yet her part was so small and.. bad. Anyone have any insight on that? Perhaps this is just before she went into rehab?Sadly, I love the radio show Prairie Home Companion, however this movie isn't going to win over any new listeners.
]]>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:48:59 GMTJennJenn Blog2/26/2007 9:48:59 AMI did not however enjoy the movie. Robert Altman captured my sentiments exactly when in the commentary near the end of the film, he starts to yawn incessantly because he&#39;s bored. He actually questions and hopes that audiences watching the film don&#39;t get bored as well. He knows it&#39;s bad. He&#39;s done some really amazing films. Surely he knew when to stop the movie or how to make it better but was bound and gagged during filming and editing. I love Garrison&#39;s antics, stories, and quirky songs. I love all of it, but he was missing too much in the film. Perhaps Keven Kline starring as Guy Noir was chosen to be the predominant actor (and narrator) because they thought he&#39;d be funny in a quirky almost handsome sort of way. Perhaps Garrison didn&#39;t want the &#39;lead&#39; or wasn&#39;t comfortable with the acting bit having been on radio his whole (most?) career. Unfortunately Kevin isn&#39;t all that funny - though I adored him in a Fish Called Wanda, the other actors clearly carried that film. If only they did truly write the show about how our culture has changed and perhaps shown direct comparison to today&#39;s interests and how PHC is so different yet loved so much by diverse audiences. Perhaps there was a whole plot twist casting Lindsey Lohan in the film, yet her part was so small and.. bad. Anyone have any insight on that? Perhaps this is just before she went into rehab?Sadly, I love the radio show Prairie Home Companion, however this movie isn&#39;t going to win over any new listeners. http://www.spout.com/blogs/gothere/archive/2006/12/10/4163.aspx Post By: gothere
Post To: You should go there
Post Date: 12/10/2006 8:08:00 PM
Body: I thought this was a good film, what one comes to expect from recent Altman films. It's an audio-visual collage and a study on character and acting that captures random and poignant moments on film, seemingly only loosely based on a script. I like Garrison Keillor, and if you do, you'll probably like the film. You have to hand it to a guy for writing a screenplay about his own show's demise. I enjoy his introspective observations and meanderings on American culture in his real radio program, much more than his way-down-yonder-in-the-yankety-yank music selection, which can seem forced. I do enjoy Keillor's bold throwback orientation on music, that it's to be performed and enjoyed, not just downloaded and worshiped. He sings from the heart, but he's no singer. The film focuses on both observational character sketches and music from the heart, like the real Prairie Home Companion. And like the actual show, the film has spiritual overtones, but so overtly Christian that it might turn some away. It comes off like the radio show and like many of Altman's films, almost like improv, where at times it seems cluttered and excessive, and others it seems unusually genuine and liberating.
]]>Mon, 11 Dec 2006 01:08:00 GMTgothereYou should go there12/10/2006 8:08:00 PMI thought this was a good film, what one comes to expect from recent Altman films. It's an audio-visual collage and a study on character and acting that captures random and poignant moments on film, seemingly only loosely based on a script. I like Garrison Keillor, and if you do, you'll probably like the film. You have to hand it to a guy for writing a screenplay about his own show's demise. I enjoy his introspective observations and meanderings on American culture in his real radio program, much more than his way-down-yonder-in-the-yankety-yank music selection, which can seem forced. I do enjoy Keillor's bold throwback orientation on music, that it's to be performed and enjoyed, not just downloaded and worshiped. He sings from the heart, but he's no singer. The film focuses on both observational character sketches and music from the heart, like the real Prairie Home Companion. And like the actual show, the film has spiritual overtones, but so overtly Christian that it might turn some away. It comes off like the radio show and like many of Altman's films, almost like improv, where at times it seems cluttered and excessive, and others it seems unusually genuine and liberating. http://www.spout.com/blogs/mully/archive/2006/10/23/3380.aspx Post By: Mully
Post To: Mully Blog
Post Date: 10/23/2006 10:48:00 AM
Body: The News From the Fitzgerald Theater 7/10 I have only recently discovered Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon series and have quickly fallen in love with the man’s incredible storytelling talent. Before that I only knew Garrison Keillor from that scene in The Simpsons where the family is watching him on TV until Homer finally gets up, hits the television and shouts out “Stupid TV ! Be more funny !” In his Lake Wobegon stories Keillor had a large cast of petty but lovable characters and he talked about the joyous, the sad and the non-events in their lives, which of course makes this material a perfect match for director Robert Altman. Even in the saddest Wobegon stories Keillor always knew how to get a smile from the audience and that’s also how this film felt. The events that occur are basically sad ones : the radio show Keillor (playing himself) and his musical posse have been doing for thirty years is into its final broadcast and one of the performers actually dies during the show. The movie is upbeat however and just like Keillor’s character in the film, it refuses to mourn the end of the show and the death of an old man. It makes the audience mourn though, as just like Keillor’s Lake Wobegon stories, the film invokes a certain nostalgia in the viewer. As usual with an Altman film, the cast is great. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play the surviving two sisters of a four sister singing act and their constant fast and mostly incomprehensible overlapping dialogue reminded me of that great double-act they did on last year’s Oscar ceremony. Lindsey Lohan plays Streep’s daughter, who writes poetry that deals solely with suicide. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly play the singing, joking cowboys Rusty and Dusty. Tommy Lee Jones is the man who shut the show down so he can put a parking lot where the Fitzgerald theater is now. Kevin Kline finally is Guy Noir, a noir detective straight from the radio plays back in the day. Guy Noir was a character on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, here he is a real person, the head of security for the Fitzgerald Theater. Throughout the film he is chasing a mysterious woman in white, which reminded me a lot of American Graffiti, where Richard Dreyfus is looking for a mysterious woman in a white T-Bird. In American Graffiti the woman in the white T-Bird signaled the end of the innocent fifties and the beginning of the turbulent sixties, Altman makes his white angel watch over the show, until she takes the show’s soul with her, just like she does with two of the characters. When it comes to Robert Altman you either love his films or couldn’t care less. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with A Prairie Home Companion and its characters and think the film can stand next to such classic Altman films as M.A.S.H. and Nashville.
]]>Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:48:00 GMTMullyMully Blog10/23/2006 10:48:00 AMThe News From the Fitzgerald Theater 7/10 I have only recently discovered Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon series and have quickly fallen in love with the man’s incredible storytelling talent. Before that I only knew Garrison Keillor from that scene in The Simpsons where the family is watching him on TV until Homer finally gets up, hits the television and shouts out “Stupid TV ! Be more funny !” In his Lake Wobegon stories Keillor had a large cast of petty but lovable characters and he talked about the joyous, the sad and the non-events in their lives, which of course makes this material a perfect match for director Robert Altman. Even in the saddest Wobegon stories Keillor always knew how to get a smile from the audience and that’s also how this film felt. The events that occur are basically sad ones : the radio show Keillor (playing himself) and his musical posse have been doing for thirty years is into its final broadcast and one of the performers actually dies during the show. The movie is upbeat however and just like Keillor’s character in the film, it refuses to mourn the end of the show and the death of an old man. It makes the audience mourn though, as just like Keillor’s Lake Wobegon stories, the film invokes a certain nostalgia in the viewer. As usual with an Altman film, the cast is great. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play the surviving two sisters of a four sister singing act and their constant fast and mostly incomprehensible overlapping dialogue reminded me of that great double-act they did on last year’s Oscar ceremony. Lindsey Lohan plays Streep’s daughter, who writes poetry that deals solely with suicide. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly play the singing, joking cowboys Rusty and Dusty. Tommy Lee Jones is the man who shut the show down so he can put a parking lot where the Fitzgerald theater is now. Kevin Kline finally is Guy Noir, a noir detective straight from the radio plays back in the day. Guy Noir was a character on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, here he is a real person, the head of security for the Fitzgerald Theater. Throughout the film he is chasing a mysterious woman in white, which reminded me a lot of American Graffiti, where Richard Dreyfus is looking for a mysterious woman in a white T-Bird. In American Graffiti the woman in the white T-Bird signaled the end of the innocent fifties and the beginning of the turbulent sixties, Altman makes his white angel watch over the show, until she takes the show’s soul with her, just like she does with two of the characters. When it comes to Robert Altman you either love his films or couldn’t care less. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with A Prairie Home Companion and its characters and think the film can stand next to such classic Altman films as M.A.S.H. and Nashville. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/music/MemberTagFilms.aspxmusic
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