Buy posters from this movie

The film follows the perspective of Guy Noir (Kevin Kline), the private eye-turned-head of security for the show, which broadcasts from the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. Unfortunately, a broadcasting company from Texas has bought the theater, and plans to turn it into a nice new parking lot, evicting the show from its home, and presumably from the airwaves all together. On this last performance, a number of strange and unique events occur, but the show goes on, as it had since 1974. We see the live broadcast interspersed with backstage moments and conversations between castmates as they slowly move toward the idea of doing something else with their lives.

I give a whole lot of credit to Garrison Keillor for this one, because only he could really capture the proper tone of this thing that he had built from the ground up. In addition to playing himself, Keillor has populated the stage with coexisting versions of his ever-present characters - Noir, Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Riley), and Keillor himself - the old-timey singing Johnson Sisters (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), and a full assortment of guest performers and techies, many played by current cast members of the program. He’s blended them in a way that allows you to very easily follow everyone without any need to know anything about their previous lives. All you need to know is that this show is important to them, and its death is a sad occasion. From there, the relationships and conversations will carry the rest.

In an ensemble this huge, it’s great to be able to say that everyone holds their own, but that doesn’t mean some people don’t steal some scenes. For my money, Dusty and Lefty are the best the film can offer. First, their performance on the show is damn near priceless – the “Bad Jokes” song had me laughing harder than anything else. Second, they develop such a great banter between the two of them that it’s no wonder they became two of Keillor’s most popular characters. Also, Virginia Madsen has the most interesting part in the film as a mysterious woman clad completely in white who wanders through the theater, occasionally interacting with the performers during their most vital moments.

Keillor himself plays a key role, as well he should, but he does not flatter himself with overwhelming screen time. He is sure to allow everyone proper coverage. I got the impression that a lot of the screen time he got during his radio performances in the film came down more to Robert Altman, in an effort to capture the flow and temperament of the program.

Even some of the people I normally don’t care for made themselves tolerable – Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan top that list. Streep is playing “The middle-aged Meryl Streep character” with enough of a history that it’s not the usual bland performance I am used to from her, and Lohan, though clearly out of her league in talent and experience, holds her own as Streep’s daughter Lola, though it’s not surprising – she’s playing a girl who can’t connect with her mother’s life, which is so blatantly from another era. Lohan ability to bridge that gap by the end of the film is commendable, though.

For Altman’s part, I figure he was there more as a guiding hand and “the visual guy” more than anything else, because Keillor is the one suited to guide this film. Added to Altman’s questionable health, I can see why a lot of the direction is very basic and simple, and in this case, it’s really all that is needed. Altman adds flairs when they won’t be too distracting, but for the most part, as he has done many times before (most recent to my memory is the wonderfulGosford Park), he sets his camera, sits back and shows off his characters. He shoots by necessity, and that fits the show very well.

I’m sure there will be those who completely missed this generation, and can’t appreciate the film as a peek into another world, but they’re missing out. They will find the film long, or boring, or aimless, but it’s reality-plus. There are unrealistic elements, sure, but when the radio broadcast goes off the air… this is probably how these people live. Whether that’s foreign or eerily familiar, audiences ought to appreciate that honesty.

This is good, harmless, family friendly entertainment. There are a couple risqué jokes, but nothing close to what you’ll see on network TV. As I said, I’ve never heard the show, but the film gave me an appreciation for the tradition at the very least. It will indeed be a sad day when A Prairie Home Companion signs off for the last time, but now this film will allow a great window into that chunk of history after other options are gone. It’s a sweet little gem with a ton of good people. Whether you’re an old fan of the show or if you’ve never even heard it, you’ll find something to make you smile here.

link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=13721&reviewer=412
originally posted: 07/07/06 03:50:43
 printer-friendly format