| For Your Consideration | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Christopher Guest |
| Written by | Christopher Guest Eugene Levy |
| Produced by | Karen Murphy |
| Starring | Bob Balaban Jennifer Coolidge Christopher Guest John Michael Higgins Eugene Levy Jane Lynch Michael McKean Catherine O'Hara Parker Posey Harry Shearer Fred Willard |
| Cinematography | Roberto Schaefer |
| Edited by | Robert Leighton |
| Music by | C. J. Vanston |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Independent Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million[1] |
| Box office | $5.9 million[1] |
For Your Consideration is a 2006 American comedy film directed byChristopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest andEugene Levy, and both also star in the film. The film's title isa phrase used in trade advertisements to promote films for honors such as theAcademy Awards. The plot revolves around a group of three actors who learn that their performances in the fictional film they have not even completed yet,Home for Purim, a drama set in the mid-1940sAmerican South, are supposedly generating a great deal of award-season buzz.
Many of the cast have appeared in Guest's previous filmsWaiting for Guffman,Best in Show, andA Mighty Wind, including Levy,Catherine O'Hara,Parker Posey,Harry Shearer,Michael McKean,Fred Willard,Larry Miller,Bob Balaban,Jennifer Coolidge,Jane Lynch,Ed Begley Jr.,Michael Hitchcock,John Michael Higgins, andJim Piddock.Ricky Gervais, the co-creator of the original British television seriesThe Office, also appears, whilePaul Dooley,John Krasinski,Richard Kind,Scott Adsit,Hart Bochner,Claire Forlani, andSandra Oh make brief cameos. Though the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors as in Guest's earlier films, the format is a departure from themockumentary style.
The film received its world premiere at theToronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2006.[2] It was produced byWarner Independent Pictures in association withCastle Rock Entertainment andShangri-La Entertainment.
The film follows the production ofHome for Purim, a low-budget drama film about a Jewish family in the Southern United States in the 1940s. The cast consists ofcharacter actress Marilyn Hack as the family's dying matriarch; veteran actor turnedkosher hot dog mascot Victor Allen Miller as her husband;ingénue Callie Webb as their lesbian daughter, whose return home with her girlfriend serves as the driving plot ofHome for Purim; and Brian Chubb, who is dating Webb, as their son.
The film's director constantly incorporates bizarre camera shots and acting notes, while the producer, heiress to a diaper service, knows nothing about producing films. The two screenwriters are at odds with the director, as they struggle to align the film's period Southern setting with incongruous Jewish references and words.
When an unattributed rumor begins to circulate that Hack, Miller, and Webb are likely to receive Oscar nominations for the film, each begins obsessing about the award. Hack pretends not to care while secretly pining for the award, Miller demands a higher salary and pushes his agent for more dignified work, and Webb breaks up with Chubb. Later, the hosts of entertainment news programHollywood Now visit the set and interview the cast.
The studio intervenes in the production ofHome for Purim and, deeming the film to be "too Jewish," re-title itHome for Thanksgiving. Despite this, the Oscar buzz around the film intensifies, and the three prospective nominees begin to make press appearances to promote the film. Miller appears on a hip-hop teen show calledChillaxin' in youthful attire with capped teeth, a tan, and dyed blonde hair. Hack getsbreast implants and extensiveplastic surgery to the point where her face is comically ecstatic. Webb goes on ashock jock radio show, only to field questions exclusively about hernude scenes.
The Academy Award nominations are announced, and only Chubb (who sleeps through the morning of the announcement) is nominated. Miller returns to auditioning for commercials. Webb attempts to revive her failedone-woman show,No Penis Intended. Hack makes a drunken rant onHollywood Now and becomes an acting teacher, having uncomfortably made peace with her mediocre career.
Based on 163 reviews collected by the film review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, 53% of critics gaveFor Your Consideration a positive review, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The critical consensus reads: "As the object of satire gets bigger the jokes become thinner, and Christopher Guest isn't as droll or insightful here than [sic] when he was lampooning smaller subjects."[3]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[4]
Leonard Maltin gave the film three stars, describing it as "uncanny in its dead-on parodies of TV and radio talk shows and other follies of show business”.[5]
Catherine O'Hara won Best Supporting Actress awards from theNational Board of Review,Kansas City Film Critics Circle, andNew York Film Critics Online. She was also nominated for anIndependent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, and received several Supporting Actress nominations for aNew York Film Critics Circle Award,Critics Choice Award,Gold Derby Award,Chlotrudis Award, and anAARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Additionally, the film's principal cast was honored with Best Ensemble performance nominations for both aChlotrudis Award and aGotham Award. Guest, as director, was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at theDeauville Film Festival. The film itself was nominated for aCritics Choice Award for Best Comedy Film.[6] O'Hara's performance earned many good reviews, spurring for a short time rumors that, in an ironic twist, she could be nominated for an Academy Award.[7] In the end, the film did not receive any Academy Award nominations.