One of Christopher Guest’s funniest and most popular films, Best in Show offers a sharply observed behind the scenes look into the extremely highly competitive and often nasty dog-shows through the “perverse” POV of a group of ruthless and eccentric dog owners.
Grade: A- (****out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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This wild bunch includes a diverse and idiosyncratic group: yuppies Hamilton and Meg Swan and their neurotic weimeraner “Beatrice”; mild-mannered menswear salesman Gerry and Cookie Fleck, whose Norwich terrier’s registered name is “Champion Thank You Neil Sedaka”; fly-fishing shop owner Harlan Pepper and his beloved bloodhound “Hubert”; New Yorker Scott Donlon and his longtime hairdresser partner.
The tale is well-written by Guest and collaborator Eugene Levy, and the subject original, but it’s the large ensemble of talented comedians that Guest has built over the years that lend the lines hilarious, at once funny and surprisingly spontaneous (as if they were improvising them on the set…).
End result is a multi-nuanced comedy that’s not only efficiently constructed but one that achieves coherence and unity beyond its episodic structure of parts.
Detailed Plot
Five dogs and their owners, trainers and handlers travel to Philadelphia to compete in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show.
Gerry and Cookie Fleck, a middle-class couple from Florida, who arrive at the Taft Hotel with their terrier Winky. Having forgotten to pay their credit card and short of cash, they are forced to sleep in the hotel’s storage room. While traveling to the show, they encounter Cookie’s former lovers who kiss her passionately and try to seduce her, making Gerry jealous. To Gerry’s chagrin, they cross paths with Cookie’s paramours after the show ends.
Meg and Hamilton Swan, a yuppie couple from a Chicago suburb, arrive with their Weimaraner Beatrice. Their doting and neurotic behavior toward Beatrice–taking their dog to a psychotherapist after she sees them having sex in position they learned from the Kama Sutra—confuses and upsets Beatrice. The Swans lose Beatrice’s favorite toy and frantically search for replacement before the show begins, but they are unable to find one. When Beatrice performs poorly and is removed by a judge for unruly behavior, they blame it on the lost toy.
Harlan Pepper, the Southern owner of fishing goods store and aspiring ventriloquist, arrives with his Bloodhound Hubert. Harlan is good-natured man who prides himself on being able to name every type of nut. The Pepper family has raised various hounds for generations, and Harlan continues the tradition by raising Bloodhounds.
Sherri Ann Cabot is the plump, buxom, overly-made-up trophy wife of a sugar daddy, the elderly Leslie Ward Cabot. A former two-time winner Sherri Ann receives help with her Standard Poodle Rhapsody in White, also known as Butch, from her taskmaster trainer Christy Cummings.
Christy is extremely competitive handler who makes sure the dog is prepared for the show. A no-nonsense, short-haired lesbian, she resists Sherri Ann’s attempts to give her a beauty makeover. Leslie is oblivious to Christy and Sherri Ann’s romantic involvement.
Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof, campy gay couple, take pride in their Shih Tzu Miss Agnes, ultra-confident she will win the competition. They share a love of old movies and enjoy making fun of Christy Cummings, but are friendly to the other competitors.
The dog show is hosted by expert Trevor Beckwith and oblivious “color” commentator Buck Laughlin, whose inane banter is annoying. During the first round,
Beatrice is disqualified when she becomes aggressive, and Hamilton cannot control her. The other four dogs advance to the final round. Just before the finals, Cookie dislocates her knee and insists that Gerry take over despite his two left feet (birth defect). Though Gerry is nervous, Winky ultimately takes Best in Show.
After the competition, Gerry and Cookie return home to Florida and enjoy brief fame there. While recording novelty songs about terriers, they discover that the recording engineer is yet another of Cookie’s ex-lovers.
Christy and Sherri Ann, now openly in a relationship, publish American Bitch, a magazine for lesbian owners of purebred dogs. After spending weeks on a kibbutz, Harlan fulfills his dream of being a ventriloquist, entertaining crowds with honky tonk song-and-dance. Stefan and Scott design a calendar featuring Shih Tzu dogs in costume in scenes from classic films such as Casablanca and Gone with the Wind.
Happy (Symmetric Ending)
Meg and Hamilton Swan are happy together after replacing Beatrice with pug named Kipper. They once again claim that the dog enjoys watching them make love.
Reel/Real Impact
Best in Show served as the inspiration for the broadcast of the “National Dog Show,” which has aired each Thanksgiving on NBC since 2002.
Cast
Eugene Levy as Gerry Fleck
Catherine O’Hara as Cookie Fleck
John Michael Higgins as Scott Donlan
Michael McKean as Stefan Vanderhoof
Michael Hitchcock as Hamilton Swan
Parker Posey as Meg Swan
Jennifer Coolidge as Sherri Ann Cabot
Jane Lynch as Christy Cummings
Christopher Guest as Harlan Pepper
Larry Miller as Max Berman
Jim Piddock as Trevor Beckwith
Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin
Ed Begley Jr. as Mark Schafer
Lynda Boyd as Cabot Party Guest
Teryl Rothery as Philly AM Host
Patrick Cranshaw as Leslie Ward Cabot
Will Sasso as Dale the Fishin’ Hole Guy
Bob Balaban as Theodore W. Millbank III
Don Lake as Graham Chissolm
Jay Brazeau as Chuck Nelken
Credits:
Directed by Christopher Guest
Written by Guest and Eugene Levy
Produced by Gordon Mark, Karen Murphy
Cinematography Roberto Schaefer
Edited by Robert Leighton
Music by C. J. Vanston
Production company: Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: September 29, 2000
Running time: 90 minutes
Budget $10 million
Box office $20.8 million
