The Big Picture (1989)

An intermittently hilarious look at the travails of getting a film produced in Hollywood, this pleasant satire by first-time director/Spinal Tap-alumnus Christopher Guest is slight, but manages to carry through on its good humor and savvy wit. Kevin Bacon is a perfect everyman choice for the lead role and makes the labors of student filmmaking believable to its core audience (disgruntled filmmaker hopefuls). Like This is Spinal Tap (which starred Guest and co-writer Michael McKean), The Big Picture features a parade of cameo appearances, many of them exceedingly well cast, particularly Jennifer Jason Leigh's robust comic turn and Martin Short's highly amusing, unbilled walk-on as an agent. Robert Altman later polished this concept in his remarkable 1992 feature The Player, but Guest's film hits the mark more often than not and has a sweeter aftertaste. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide