Review of A Prairie Home Companion (2006) by Meeza (Lobsterman) — 17 May 2008

"All we hear is Radio Gugu! Radio Gaga!" That is the main refrain from the 80's Queen hit "Radio Gaga". Sometimes our spoiled society undermines and overlooks the pioneering magnitude that radio has had on other broadcast mediums.

Simply stated: There is still some good radio gaga left on the radio. That is one of the premier messages in the latest Robert Altman's ensemble piece "A Prairie Home Companion". The film is a semi-fictional look at the final night of an enduring radio variety program which bears the same name as the film title.

Master auteur Altman is the unprecedented king of overlapping film dialogue, and he continues to have that reign with the masterful verbose direction of "A Prairie Home Companion". Here comes my favorite part of an Altman film review: Character Study! The characters of Altman are of what else: Of Altman Character.

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin play the singing Johnson sisters. This Johnson & Johnson duo obviously benefited by having a strong "band-aid". As usual, Streep and Tomlin were not offbeat with their portrayals.

Streep, as always, was delightful as the cogitated sibling and Tomlin was succulent as the sarcastic hermana. Simply stated: The Streeplin sister acting act was quite notable. Woody Harrelson and John C.

Reilly played Dusty and Lefty, side-splitting musical cowboys whose "Bad Jokes" routine was the "is so bad that is great" performance of the year. Simply stated: Their "Corny on the Cob" act was quite juicy! Lindsay Lohan played Streep's suicide poetic daughter Lola.

Her name was Lola and she was the showgirl of the film. Lohan' s portrayal of Lola has created quite a budding stir on her acting maturity. Simply stated: Lola was inspiring at the Prairie Home Copacabana! Virginia Madsen was white on as the "Dangerous Woman", the white-trench-coated spirit which inhabits the set nonchalantly.

Madsen's comeback continues with her wicked work here! Simply stated: We are all still mad about Madsen. The film is actually a celebrity version of Garrison Keller's radio show, so it was not surprising that his garrulous performance as G.

K., the show's ringmaster, spoke volumes of his acting skills. Simply stated: G.K. was more than O.K. Tommy Lee Jones was the fugitive of the group. He plays Axeman, the corporate greed who is determined to station off and shut down the "Prairie Home Companion" show.

Jones is once again jonzing when he plays the antagonist. Simply stated: Let's just say that Jones was no companion to "A Prairie Home Companion" but his performance was a key ingredient to the successful ensemble.

However, my favorite thespian work of the film was delivered by the crafty Kevin Kline. He plays Guy Noir, the narcissistic security chief who by the looks of things (which includes looking at himself a thousand times a day) is more interested in female sex companions than prairie home companions.

Simply stated: I am "inklined" to predict that Kline will be nominated for A Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his wonderful performance. Altman is an Actor's Director! The film is also a symbolic interpretation of the final phases of his memorable career.

He is 80 and in the future he will be A Heavenly Companion. However, his perseverance has proved that day will not come any time soon. Thank you Robert for being a profoundly successful directorial "player" which took no "short cuts" to greatness.

**** Good.