Guest star dims

I never thought I'd have to say this, but Christopher Guest has disappointed me. I just watched For Your Consideration, and it was . . . well, DULL. And I think that's because it was a very Hollywood movie — a picture by, for, and about Tinseltown. Oy! Even Fred Willard wasn't that funny. He was trying way, way too hard.

Heck, they all were. The Guest gang has been doing the same unscripted comedy together for so long, all their characters have become predictable. The improv isn't improv any more, it's just the same schtick they did in the last movie, or the one before that. Like the part where Willard spouts non sequiturs, or where a hopeful suitor hits on an oblivious Jennifer Coolidge, or where Eugene Levy is clueless, or where Parker Posey is just this side of normal. It's all the same. Not even the needless introduction of Ricky Gervais into the mix helped.

How dull was it? While watching this movie, I also:

• made an omelet, sausage, and toast for dinner
  
• scrubbed pots
  
• emptied the dishwasher
  
• refilled the dishwashser
  
• paid my cell phone bill
  
• watered the plants
  
• played with the cats
  
• flossed
  
• did a load of laundry
  
• composed this blog entry
  

At first I was offended that a movie by one of my favorite directors went straight to video, but by the time this one was halfway over, I could see why it bypassed theaters. I was so disappointed, I didn't even watch the special DVD features. Sigh. Maybe Guest has simply used up his allotment of wackiness for this lifetime.