Ad-libbing brings out the best in Best in Show

by Lauren Gross
STAFF WRITER

True to the cliché, "man's best friend," dogs can be loyal and protective companions. But what happens when that bond goes too far is the theme of the film Best in Show.

Nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture — Musical or Comedy, Best in Show is a mockumentary on the sick, sick world of dog shows. Even more morally deprived than a child's beauty pageant, this competition is mostly for the "parents," too.

The show begins with yuppies Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock), catalogue-clothed fiends seeing a psychologist. They feel their dog is shutting them out because she walked in on them having sex. In their opinion, this could have caused anxiety in the dog's behavior and ultimately cost a victory at the next competition.

The camera, also the observer, follows four other competitors on their way to Pennsylvania for the Mayflower Kennel Dog Show. The bloodthirsty group has one goal in mind - for their dog to win Best in Show.

Directed by Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman), Best in Show is a knee-slapping (four times in fact) good time. From the opening scene to ending credits, the laughs are continuous. But it’s sad to think there really are people like this.

Although Guest and Eugene Levy wrote the film, it is only an outline. The actors provide the true comedy. The cast is comprised mostly of actors who are beyond their prime, but not their talent. Everybody in this film brings down the doghouse, playing off one another well.

Enter Cookie (Catherine O'Hara ), who is obsessed with her terrier named Winky, and Gerry Fleck (Eugene Levy). This is the couple who coined the term "white trash." Throughout their trip from Florida to Pennsylvania, Cookie keeps running into ex-lovers, which eventually breaks Gerry down.

Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins play gay lovers Stefan and Scott, who met at a prior dog show through their identical Shih Tzus. The kimono-flaring pair treats dogs like children, talking to them on the phone and dressing them for fun.

Ignited by the same flame are Sheri Ann Ward Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge), an Anna Nicole Smith-like character, and her "handler" Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch) who enter Sheri Ann's shaved poodle-like purebred into the competition. Their relationship is suspect throughout the film, but is proved in the end.

Guest transforms himself into bait-and-tackle shop owner/ventriloquist Harlan Pepper. He is not the brightest man, but he sure does love his beautiful bloodhound. Guest's performance is purposefully slow but funny in content.

Finally, Fred Willard brings tears to the eyes with his role as commentator Buck Laughlin. Knowing obviously nothing about dog breeding or shows, he asks crazy questions and makes comments of random ignorance.

With the combination of impressive ad-libbing, the cute household pets, a unique story line and 89 minutes of hilarious reel time, Best in Show lives up to its name.