Review of A Prairie Home Companion (2006) by Amanda S — 24 Mar 2008

Maybe I was just shallow and dumb the day I saw this, but I didn't really get much out of it. It confused me and not necessarily in a good way. I was sitting there watching it, and it was slow, but I was kind of along for the ride...just watching this weird world Altman created and then Mark leaned over and said "This is the worst film ever" and I thought "Yeah, well, that's valid too". It's not really a film that goes anywhere so the most I can say for it is that it has some entertaining moments, a great cast and it will take you to a very strange little random world....you may not want to go there for the very slow 1h40mins of the film's duration, but it will take you there none-the-less.

Random. Random is a really good word to describe this movie. And eclectic. The jokes are random; the plot is random; the styles of storytelling are eclectic, the cast is eclectic and the characters they play are both. It's a pretty weird little place. Lots of good performances though. That's always fun to watch. I might have enjoyed it more though, if the movie had been a bit more random: just snipets of backstage and onstage with that cast might have been really interesting. It was the bizarre attempt at a plot that really threw me.

What was the deal with the angel of death in the white trench coat? So bizarre. And the film noir private eye thing...equally weird, and equally unexplained or fleshed out. Quirky, but somehow it missed fun by a fraction of an inch. What was the deal with Lindsey Lohan's character? Does one experience singing on the stage turn one from a whiny teenager into a yuppie? Or was that transformation indicative of her finding herself or coming into her own in some way? If so, I missed something along the way because it didn't work for me. And then I have to wonder if the whole film (and the angel subplot) is some sort of parable for the march of "progress" and how big business is destroying many of our treasured and kitschy institutions. That could make for a pretty powerful film/message. But if that's what they were trying to say, they didn't quite make it there either. Almost, but not quite...and why say it with angels and weird corporate axe-men who may or may not also be supernatural beings?

I give it kudos for assembling such an interesting cast and for some clever writing/acting at times, but mostly it made me feel every minute of the running time. On the other hand, it set my brain spinning and I've been trying to figure it out for days now so it must have something going for it.