Mascots (2016)

Great Film overall

From my favorite movies..

Admirable film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I wasn't able to watch this under the best of circumstances. It was a relatively poor rip and I couldn't watch it from a comfortable sofa or such, and that never helps. I have been looking forward to watching it, though, since I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the other mockumentary films made by Corky St., ehrm, I mean Christopher Guest. It was a little unsettling to see how much older some of the actors / actresses have been growing, but it is what it is - time waits for no one.Then, onto the actual movie. I wasn't too excited by the subject matter of sports team mascots, but Guest usually pulls it off, so I had some hopes. And I must say, it's pretty much more of the same but still different. I had to get used to some of the new actors in the cast, but especially Sarah Baker and Zach Woods did quite well. Some other actors were less impressive, but a lot of the familiar faces did just fine, like Posey, Hitchcock, Begley Jr., Higgins, Piddock, etc., and of course it was quite a good idea to get Corky St. Clair back in. It may have been partly the circumstances in which I had to see this, but all in all it wasn't much more than just enjoyable, with Chris O'Dowd as a low point - not sure I can explain exactly why, but his part and acting didn't much speak to me.Maybe if this ever will come out on dvd or blu-ray I will be able to watch it over and over (as I did recently with all the other Guest mockumentaries) and get more into it. For now, this was fun in part, with most of the final performances in the finale being the very highlights, but I just can't get myself to go any higher than a good 6 out of 10.

From the preview on Netflix, this looked pretty funny, and having seen most of Christopher Guest's movies, I had plenty of reason to think the preview was accurate.But the film as a whole is lacking. It has too much down time, too many characters we have little reason to care about. The structure and plot are almost exactly the same as "Best in Show". It is as though Guest took Netflix's money and just switched from dogs to mascots.Some parts were better than others. Parker Posey, as always, is fantastic. And some of the mascot routines were good -- the Plumber routine, as well as the Hedgehog. I did like the idea of the armadillo having tire tracks on it.

Christopher Guest has always made seriously hilarious mockumentaries. Beginning with the classic comedy "This is Spinal Tap," Guest has riffed on every subject from local theater, to dog shows, and here he is taking on the world of mascots. He assembled some of his favorite actors (Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Ed Begley Jr., and John Michael Higgins to name a few) and has released his newest film "Mascots," on Netflix. Though Guest uses the same great set-up as many of his past films, sometimes tried and true methods are more tired and false.While I have enjoyed all six of Guest's written mockumentaries, this film is a bore-fest from start to finish.For one thing it doesn't feel like a mockumentary. There's too much polish and obvious talking heads flavoring this film for it to feel like anything other than a run of the mill, factory made comedy. Though there are a couple of chuckles to be had at the witty banter, there's nothing truly incisive about the commentary of this film. The world of mascoting might be small, like the dog show circuit, but it's not one that truly lends to a lot of social discourse, or any true characterizations of small town America, which is Guest's bread and butter. It wouldn't surprise me if the entire reason Guest chose mascots is part of the film concerning the Furry community, which is the only truly interesting bit of the film.Some aspects of the film feel really stale and out of place. The entire plot turn where Cindi Babineaux's school's past is called into question, was clearly unneeded, because it does nothing but hinder the plot and confuse the audience. It's also unclear why Fred Willard and Brad Williams conversation needs to happen at all, except to show a character out of their depth. Actually a lot of the cast feels unneeded or written poorly, including the married couple, The Fist and his straight man, and all the side mascots. The routines aren't even really about supporting a team. They're often influenced more by vaudeville, or clown culture, which doesn't fit into the film at all.Honestly, this would have made for a better television show. It would be great to see these characters in a more in-depth way, and really explain mascot culture for those of us completely in the dark. Though it's clear much of the cast is trying their darndest to recapture the old magic of "Waiting for Guffman," and "A Mighty Wind," this is probably the lowest Christopher Guest has ever sunk. (Barring "Almost Heroes" of course.)

We were waiting for this movie to become available after seeing some previews and were not disappointed. I was surprised at the awful reviews--maybe the humor is just too subtle for some folks. It was clever and amusing, with a lot of little amusing details. It's not my favorite of his movies (that would be Best in Show), but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to fans. Fred Willard's character is even more cringe-making than usual, Parker Posey plays pathetically un-self-aware women with such skill, and I really admire the willingness of this group of actors to make themselves pretty unattractive and awkward in the service of the faux-documentary style.