A Mighty Wind
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChristopher Guest
Written byChristopher Guest
Eugene Levy
Produced byKaren Murphy
Starring
CinematographyArlene Nelson
Edited byRobert Leighton
Music byChristopher Guest
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
April 16, 2003 (2003-04-16)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[1]
Box office$18.7 million[2]

A Mighty Wind is a 2003 American mockumentary comedy film about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. Co-written (with Eugene Levy), directed, and composed by Christopher Guest,[3] the film is widely acknowledged to reference folk music producer Harold Leventhal as the inspiration for the character of Irving Steinbloom[4] and more broadly parodies the American folk music revival of the early 1960s and its personalities.

Guest co-stars and reunites many of his company of actors from This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show for this film, including Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch and Parker Posey.

Plot

After fictional folk music producer Irving Steinbloom dies, his children Jonathan, Naomi, and Elliott organize a memorial concert, which they hope to feature his three most famous acts: The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and Mitch & Mickey.

The Folksmen trio — Mark Shubb, Alan Barrows, and Jerry Palter — were once the most popular of the acts but have not appeared together in decades. They had several minor hits, and their most famous song was "Old Joe's Place." Despite not playing or seeing each other for many years, their reunion is very positive and full of good memories, so they diligently begin rehearsing for the concert. Although some tension arises over whether to include "Skeletons of Quinto", a convoluted, somber song about the Spanish Civil War, in their otherwise upbeat set list, they clearly enjoy working together again.

The New Main Street Singers are the second generation of the original Main Street Singers, formed by George Menschell, the only living member of the original group, who sings and holds a guitar he cannot play. Performers include Terry Bohner and his wife Laurie, a former adult film star, now founders of Witches in Nature's Colors (WINC), a coven of modern-day witches that worships the power of color, and former juvenile delinquent Sissy Knox, the daughter of Fred Knox, one of the original Main Street Singers. Their manager, Mike LaFontaine, most famously appeared in a short-lived and mostly forgotten 1970 sitcom, Wha' Happened?, but is constantly puzzling others by quoting his character Li'l Eddie Dees' catchphrases, including the show's title, which was its tagline. The group is known for their complex harmonies, forming what Menschell terms a "neuftet".

Mitch Cohen and Mickey Crabbe appeared as Mitch & Mickey, a former couple that released seven albums and ended performances of their most famous song, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," by kissing each other. After a dramatic break-up years before the events of the film, Mickey seemingly moved on and has married a medical supply salesman, but Mitch broke down emotionally and has never fully recovered. As the pair reunite and rehearse, romantic tension and personal regrets repeatedly imperil their participation in the concert.

The three groups, all of whom have sunk to various levels of musical irrelevance since their respective heyday, agree to the reunion performance, to be held at The Town Hall in New York and televised live on the PBS-like station PBN. The acts rehearse for the show and participate in interviews discussing their activities over the previous years and their feelings about performing again.

The show itself proceeds with only two hitches: the intended opening song for The Folksmen's set is played first by the New Main Street Singers (a song called "Never Did No Wanderin'", which the Folksmen sing in a rugged, emotional manner consistent with the spirit of the song, while the New Main Street Singers perform it in their usual peppy, carefree way), and Mitch temporarily disappears minutes before he and Mickey are to perform, forcing the Folksmen to extend their set. It turns out that Mitch had gone to buy a rose for Mickey, which she gratefully accepts as they go on stage. They perform "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow", and after a suspenseful pause, they do the much-anticipated kiss at the end. In the finale, all three acts sing "A Mighty Wind" together.

Six months after the concert, many of the performers detail subsequent events via interviews. Mickey is performing "The Sure-Flo Song" (about a medical device used for bladder control) at her husband Leonard's trade show booth, while Mitch is writing poetry again, claiming to be in a "prolific phase". Mickey claims that Mitch overreacted to their onstage kiss, while Mitch insists that he no longer has feelings for Mickey, but had worried that Mickey's feelings for him might have returned. LaFontaine is trying to drum up interest for a sitcom called "Supreme Folk", in which the New Main Street Singers star as characters who are Supreme Court judges by day and folk singers sharing a house by night. The Folksmen have reunited, but Mark Shubb, now a transgender woman named Marta, has revamped her wardrobe and continues to sing in her deep bass voice, followed now by a girlish giggle.

Cast

Production

Origins

Guest, McKean and Shearer first appeared as The Folksmen in a season 10 episode of Saturday Night Live that aired on November 3, 1984, when Guest and Shearer were both repertory cast members of the show and McKean was that week's host. Earlier that year, Guest, McKean and Shearer had appeared as the titular group in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, a parody of aging heavy metal bands. McKean later stated, "I came and hosted a show, and in lieu of another 'Tap' piece, we did these guys."[5]

The Folksmen later appeared in Spinal Tap's 1992 TV special, The Return of Spinal Tap,[5][6] and the original concept for A Mighty Wind was to give The Folksmen their own narrative vehicle.[7]

Development

"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow", which was composed for the film by Michael McKean and wife Annette O'Toole, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

In the commentary for the DVD release, Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy noted that, in a scene cut from the finished movie, it is explained that Menschell cannot play the guitar. However, just before a performance of the original Main Street Singers, he stained his shirt front and covered it up by holding a guitar for the performance, something he continued to do for all subsequent performances.

Music

Soundtrack

A Mighty Wind: The Album
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedApril 8, 2003 (2003-04-08)
Recorded2002
VenueThe Orpheum Theater, The Treehouse, The Village
Genre
Length45:06
LabelColumbia/DMZ/Sony Music Soundtrax

The official soundtrack, titled A Mighty Wind: The Album, was released on April 8, 2003, shortly before the film's premiere.[8] It peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart.[9]

No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Old Joe's Place"Christopher Guest/Michael McKean/Harry ShearerThe Folksmen2:10
2."Just That Kinda Day"Christopher Guest/Michael McKeanThe New Main Street Singers2:32
3."When You're Next to Me"Eugene LevyMitch & Mickey2:59
4."Never Did No Wanderin'"Michael McKean/Harry ShearerThe Folksmen3:04
5."Fare Away"Michael McKean/C.J. VanstonThe New Main Street Singers2:40
6."One More Time"Eugene Levy/Catherine O'HaraMitch & Mickey3:38
7."Loco Man"Harry ShearerThe Folksmen1:57
8."The Good Book Song"Michael McKean/Rainer Ptacek/Harry ShearerThe New Main Street Singers2:13
9."Skeletons of Quinto"Christopher GuestThe Folksmen3:28
10."Never Did No Wanderin'"Michael McKean/Harry ShearerThe New Main Street Singers2:46
11."The Ballad of Bobby and June"Eugene LevyMitch & Mickey4:08
12."Blood on the Coal"Christopher Guest/Michael McKean/Harry ShearerThe Folksmen3:07
13."Main Street Rag"Arranged by John Michael HigginsThe New Main Street Singers0:58
14."Start Me Up"Mick Jagger/Keith RichardsThe Folksmen2:26
15."Potato's in the Paddy Wagon"Michael McKeanThe New Main Street Singers2:11
16."A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow"Michael McKean/Annette O'TooleMitch & Mickey2:32
17."A Mighty Wind"Christopher Guest/Eugene Levy/Michael McKeanThe Folksmen/Mitch & Mickey/The New Main Street Singers2:17
Total length:45:06

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and AllMusic.[10]

Promotional tour

Following the release of the film, the cast performed a show in character at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.[11] This was followed by a seven-city U.S. tour in the fall of 2003 to promote the release of the film on DVD. The tour dates were: Philadelphia (Tower Theater, September 19), New York City (The Town Hall, September 20), Washington, D.C. (The 9:30 Club, September 21), Boston (Orpheum Theatre, September 22), Los Angeles (Wilshire Theatre, November 8), San Francisco (Warfield Theatre, November 9) and Seattle (McCaw Hall, November 14), with an additional performance in Vancouver, BC.[12][13][14][15]

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on reviews from 175 critics, and an average rating of 7.35/10, with the sites consensus, "Though not as uproariously funny as Guest's previous movies, A Mighty Wind is also more heartfelt."[16] On Metacritic the film has a score of 81% based on reviews from 40 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[17]

San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle stated that it "gently caricatures the folk music scene with dozens of delicate brush strokes, creating a picture that's increasingly, gloriously funny – as in entire lines of dialogue are lost because the audience's laughing so hard." The review also displayed a drawing of the newspaper's character of The Little Man giving a standing ovation (the Chronicle's equivalent of a five-star rating).[18] Roger Ebert stated that "though there were many times when I laughed", "the edge is missing from Guest's usual style" perhaps because he "is too fond of the characters". Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four.[19]

Awards

Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, for the song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," which was performed at the 76th Academy Awards by Levy and O'Hara (in character).[20] "A Mighty Wind" won the Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media award for Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, and Michael McKean at the 46th Grammy Awards.[21]

Box office

The film had a moderate intake for its opening day in April 2003, grossing $307,931 in total. It went on to gross $2,112,140 in 133 theatres for an average of $15,880 per theatre.[2] With a domestic total of $17,583,468 and an international total of $969,240, the film brought in a total of $18,750,246 during its theatrical run.

References

  1. ↑ "A Mighty Wind". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "A Mighty Wind (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  3. ↑ "A Mighty Wind". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ Fox, Margalit (October 6, 2005). "Harold Leventhal, Promoter of Folk Music, Dies at 86". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Murray, Rebecca; Topel, Fred. "Interview with Harry Shearer and Michael McKean Two of "A Mighty Wind's" 'Folksmen'". About.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ Castillo, Arielle (April 24, 2009). "Q&A With Michael McKean of Spinal Tap, Appearing at the Fillmore Miami Beach on May 5!". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on September 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  7. ↑ Leopold, Todd (April 17, 2009). "Spinal Tap takes off the wigs". CNN. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  8. ↑ "A Mighty Wind - The Album by A Mighty Wind (Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Billboard". May 10, 2003. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Mighty Wind: The Album - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Mighty Wind' tour whipping up renewed excitement". The Morning Call. September 18, 2003. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  12. ↑ Righi, Len (September 18, 2003). "Mighty Wind' tour whipping up renewed excitement". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  13. ↑ "A Mighty Wind Cast Reunites For Tour". Glide Magazine. September 8, 2003. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  14. ↑ Evans, Rob (October 28, 2003). "'A Mighty Wind' cast takes its show out West". soundspike.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  15. ↑ "A Mighty Wind: Live in Concert @ Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills on November 08, 2003". Rate Your Music.
  16. ↑ "A Mighty Wind (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  17. ↑ "A Mighty Wind". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Howling in the 'Wind' Christopher Guest's mockumentary on folk music is the season's smartest comedy". San Francisco Chronicle. April 16, 2003. Archived from the original on May 2, 2003. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  19. ↑ Ebert, Roger (April 16, 2003). "A Mighty Wind Movie Review & Film Summary (2003)". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Oscars: The Top 8 Greatest Musical Moments". ABC News. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  21. ↑ "'A Mighty Wind' 20th anniversary: 'Spinal Tap' spoof earned Oscar love". USA Today. May 8, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
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