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Though not as uproariously funny as Guest's previous movies, A Mighty Wind is also more heartfelt.
All Critics (175) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (153) | Rotten (22) | DVD (10)
There is no shortage of performers with comic skills in A Mighty Wind. What's lacking instead is a visible premise for the satire and ridicule. May 16, 2003
There is no shortage of performers with comic skills in A Mighty Wind. What's lacking instead is a visible premise for the satire and ridicule.
Andrew Sarris
More of a warm breeze than a great gust, but its simple, smart pleasures carry the force of a hurricane. May 9, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
More of a warm breeze than a great gust, but its simple, smart pleasures carry the force of a hurricane.
Connie Ogle
You don't leave A Mighty Wind laughing so much as humming. Its dialogue may be improvised, but its music is well rehearsed. May 9, 2003 | Rating: A-
You don't leave A Mighty Wind laughing so much as humming. Its dialogue may be improvised, but its music is well rehearsed.
Bruce Westbrook
While Guest never forgets to laugh, he never forgets to love either, embracing the very subject he is simultaneously throttling. May 9, 2003 | Rating: B+
While Guest never forgets to laugh, he never forgets to love either, embracing the very subject he is simultaneously throttling.
Tom Long
A hoot. May 9, 2003 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
A hoot.
Terry Lawson
A rollicking, tongue-in-cheek sendup. May 8, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
A rollicking, tongue-in-cheek sendup.
Bill Muller
Aside from Miss Lynch, there are two very sweet performances, by Levy and O'Hara as Mitch and Mickey. Feb 2, 2018 | Full Review…
Aside from Miss Lynch, there are two very sweet performances, by Levy and O'Hara as Mitch and Mickey.
Mark Steyn
The performance that sticks is the one by Eugene Levy, whose work conveys a tenderness that momentarily slices through the satire. Feb 13, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
The performance that sticks is the one by Eugene Levy, whose work conveys a tenderness that momentarily slices through the satire.
Matt Brunson
Hilarious folk music mockumentary has some innuendo. Dec 21, 2010 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Hilarious folk music mockumentary has some innuendo.
Nell Minow
One breathtaking moment of clarity between Eugene Levy's Mitch and Catherine O'Hara's Mickey gives way to an anticipated kiss during which you can practically sense the characters' hearts thumping and their fictional contemporaries rooting for them. Sep 25, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
One breathtaking moment of clarity between Eugene Levy's Mitch and Catherine O'Hara's Mickey gives way to an anticipated kiss during which you can practically sense the characters' hearts thumping and their fictional contemporaries rooting for them.
Nick Rogers
Director Christopher Guest teams up recurring cast members from his past ensemble comedies ("This Is Spinal Tap," "Waiting For Guffman" and "Best In Show") for this immaculately executed comedy of folk music stereotypes. Apr 18, 2009 | Rating: A- | Full Review…
Director Christopher Guest teams up recurring cast members from his past ensemble comedies ("This Is Spinal Tap," "Waiting For Guffman" and "Best In Show") for this immaculately executed comedy of folk music stereotypes.
Cole Smithey
Guest lets the characters talk at length, obliviously revealing their own quirks and neuroses. Jul 18, 2008 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…
Guest lets the characters talk at length, obliviously revealing their own quirks and neuroses.
Rob Gonsalves
The impression we have here is that Guest is less interested in making fun of people and their curious idiosyncrasies with his usual satirical bite, making a film that is sweeter and more heartfelt than Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show but also a bit less funny, too.
Super Reviewer
Full confession alert: I'm not the biggest Christopher Guest fan; however, A Mighty Wind is maturely directed, heartfelt, and keenly observed. I never thought I would be genuinely touched by a Guest film, but that's why we watch movies, right?
Whenever I want to watch something light and comedic I either watch a Woody Allen or one of Christopher Guests' mockumentaries. This film is lacking compared to the over the top ensemble Waiting for Guffman and the polarizing Best in Show, but what it doesn't hold in a secure and structured plot it makes up for in heart and gumption. I agree that when it tries to be subtle it's not well understood and when it tries to be obvious it's a bit in your face, but overall I found this to still to have a quiet charm about it. Guest always satirizes the easy targets: dog shows, local theater, and retired rock bands. Anywhere where eccentric characters thrive he mines for the laughs, usually easy with his usual cast of characters. Guest always uses his old stand-bys of Eugene Levy (who co-writes the scripts with Guest), Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean. He also utilizes youthful character actors John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch (an unknown in both this and Best in Show), and Bob Balaban. Every one of these films works exactly the same: a group of characters with misshaped values work to find fame and love from the crowd, either don't succeed or thoroughly embarrass themselves, and we flash to a short amount of time later to see the depths to which they have fallen. Most of this film is solely the folk music, the characters playing their instruments, and the oncoming concert. Through the interviews we learn strange details about these people including the involvement in a cult, a past in pornography, homelessness, and transgendered choices. The sub-plot over Mitch and Mickey was probably one of the sweeter things I've seen in film in a long time. Really, a delightful ensemble.
What it lacks in plot it makes up for in an abundance of laughs. Full review later.
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