Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Best in Show Blu-ray Movie Review

Best Show-Off

Reviewed by Michael Reuben February 18, 2013

The faux documentary style became a staple of contemporary comedy with the success of the British version of The Office in 2001, but its origins are considerably older. It flowered with the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984. It continued with a series of four largely improvised films directed by Christopher Guest, a co-writer and star of Spinal Tap, beginning with Waiting for Guffman (1996), followed four years later by Best in Show. After appearing in Spinal Tap as the dim-witted guitarist Nigel Tufnel ("These dials go to eleven"), Guest assembled a kind of repertory company from such improv training grounds as Second City and the Groundlings. He would give them character outlines and a basic story, then let the cameras roll. The results were unique—and hilarious. As a famous quote from Spinal Tap puts it, there's a fine line between clever and stupid, and no one has ever pirouetted on it more delicately than Guest's sophisticated troop of clowns.

In all four of his films, Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy delved into a specific world of enthusiasts: community theater in Guffman; dog shows for Best in Show; folk music in a A Mighty Wind (2003); and award campaigns in For Your Consideration (2006). The common element is that the participants in these pursuits take them with deadly seriousness, sometimes to the point of obsession, but to an outsider the whole thing often looks ridiculous. If Guest hadn't tired of the format, one can only imagine what he might have done with the home theater community.

Best in Show remains the most popular of Guest's films, probably because so many people love dogs and, thanks to the cooperation of various trainers and kennel clubs, the production was able to obtain magnificent specimens as canine cast members. Besides, the dogs emerge as the film's true heroes. They're much better behaved than the humans.

Guest's films are more about character than plot. There's usually a single event that gathers a group of enthusiasts with a common interest, who are interviewed by an unseen documentary crew as the event approaches. In Best in Show, it's the fiercely contested Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in Philadelphia. The film follows five very different but equally intense entrants as they prepare for the competition.

The Swans, Meg and Hamilton (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock), are a pair of feuding corporate attorneys who we first encounter in the office of their therapist (Jay Brazeau). Their gorgeous Weimaraner named Beatrice might have a chance, if the Swans could ever stop arguing long enough to pay her any attention.

Gerry and Cookie Fleck (Levy and Catherine O'Hara) hale from a small town in Florida, where they dote on their Norwich Terrier, Winky. Perpetually short of funds, they drive to Philadelphia, enduring a tense overnight stay at the home of one of Cookie's old boyfriends, Max Berman (Larry Miller). One of the film's best running jokes is that Cookie has old boyfriends everywhere, not to mention flings, one-night stands and random hook-ups. Levy never runs out of variations on the pained expression of a husband who knows he wasn't the best, but somehow managed to be the last of his wife's lovers (or is he?). He also has an unusual physical condition that produces a string of sight gags.

Harlan Pepper (Guest) runs a fishing shop in North Carolina, but his true aspiration is to become a ventriloquist. True to form, he does all the talking for his Bloodhound, Hubert.

Sherri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge) is the much younger wife of an elderly man with money (Patrick Cranshaw). "We both love soup", she says, explaining the attraction. Their Standard Poodle known as Rhapsody in White has won "Best in Show" for the last two years under the supervision of top-ranked trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch), who acts like it's her dog. They are the odds-on favorite this year.

Finally, we have Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof (John Michael Higgins and Michael McKean), a gay couple who have brought their Shih Tzu, Miss Agnes, from New York City. If one imagined a young American version of Renato and Albin from La Cage aux Folles, it would be Scott and Stefan, with Stefan as the steady, responsible half of the couple, and Scott the flamboyant party animal. However, they do share a seriousness about winning, and both of them have their sights locked on Christy Cummings and Rhapsody in White.

As entertaining as these various eccentrics are, they are all upstaged once the competition begins by Fred Willard's Buck Laughlin, the dunce of a sportscasting announcer who knows nothing about dog shows and is a constant embarrassment to his co-anchor, Trevor Beckwith, played with long-suffering British reserve by Jim Piddock. (According to the commentary, Piddock studied so hard to be convincing in the part that many viewers thought he really was a professional dog show commentator.) As one absurdity follows another, Piddock's Beckwith gently tries to correct his colleague while maintaining a professional demeanor. Meanwhile, Willard's Laughlin keeps dragging them both down. (E.g.: "Now tell me, which one of these dogs would you want to have as your wide receiver on your football team?")

One other memorable character is the hotel manager played by Ed Begley, Jr., who has become an expert in the demands of guests both human and canine. His detailed presentation on which cleaning products should be used in the aftermath of "accidents" by various dog breeds is not to be missed.

Best in Show Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Consistent with its documentary aesthetic (and also no doubt due to budgetary constraints), Best in Show was shot on 16mm film using available light. Although Cinematographer Roberto Schaefer is perfectly capable of producing a polished, glossy image (e.g., Quantum of Solace), here he delivered an appropriately textured and slightly grainy product that looks like it was captured "on the run"—which it frequently was. For example, in the painful scene where the Flecks attempt to check into the hotel, the production couldn't afford to rent the facility for the day, which meant that the staff continued doing business as Guest filmed, with phones ringing and patrons registering on either side of the actors performing their lines.

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray will disappoint those who expect "pop" from their Blu-rays, but it accurately captures the film's roughness and preserves the somewhat coarser grain structure that resulted from the combination of 16mm photography and available light. Fine detail remains quite good in close-ups and medium shots, although in some longer shots, the limits of 16mm's resolution become apparent. Colors are generally realistic, and no attempt has been made to "push" them toward greater saturation or intensity. A minute amount of video noise creeps in from time to time, but Warner is to be commended for not trying to hide it with DNR or strip it away with high frequency filtering. No other artifacts were observed; the 90-minute film fits comfortably on a BD-25, especially since all the supplements are in standard definition.

A detail worth noting: Unlike the usual Warner treatment of films framed at 1.85:1 theatrically, Best in Show has not been opened up to 1.78:1 on Blu-ray. It remains at its original aspect ratio.

Best in Show Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Best in Show was released with a 5.1 soundtrack, which appeared on the DVD and is reproduced on the Blu-ray in DTS-HD MA 5.1, but you're not likely to notice much sound from anything other than the center speaker. The documentary style of the film dictates that all sonic activity will come from the front, and most of it is dialogue. Even the footage from the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which would be a likely candidate for crowd noise and other such surround phenomena in a different kind of movie, doesn't break the illusion that the entire film has been shot by a documentary crew with one sound man and a boom mike. Except for the closing credits, music doesn't occur on the soundtrack unless sung by someone on camera. Most of the compositions are credited to Eugene Levy or Jeffrey C.J. Vanston.

Best in Show Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The extras have been ported over from the 2004 Warner DVD.

• Commentary with Directory/Co-Writer Christopher Guest and Co-Writer Eugene Levy: This is a relaxed and often tongue-in-cheek conversation, especially on the part of Guest, whose tone is so consistently deadpan that, when Levy claims that his old friend and writing partner "fell off the couch" with laughter over an idea, it's hard to believe the phrase is anything but a metaphor. They talk about writing the script (or, more accurately, the story outline), the performance styles of various cast members, ideas and ad libs that didn't make the final cut and the practical logistics of shooting in Vancouver, which doubled for all of the American locations.



• Deleted Scenes (with Optional Commentary) (480i; 1.85:1, non-enhanced; 30:37): As Guest notes during the feature commentary, the final film was edited down from about 60 hours of raw footage. These scenes represent a fraction of the available outtakes, and it's clear from the advanced state of the editing that they made it into at least an early cut of the film. The commentary by Guest and Levy is relatively brief.
• Harlan at Home
• Scott and Stefan at the Party
• The Swans Before the Show
• Harlan at Original Cabin
• Sherri Ann and Christy
• Gerry and Cookie—Alternate Epilogue
• Harlan and Arrowheads
• Scott and Stefan at Home
• Remote Control Dog
• The Swans After the Show
• Hair on the Knees
• Harlan Drives
• Slobber Rag
• Stefan at Salon
• Harlan and Lil' Buddy
• Talman's
• Leslie and Buck



• Theatrical Trailer (480i; 1.85:1, enhanced; 2:12)

Best in Show Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy Best in Show, just as you don't have be a theater enthusiast to laugh at Waiting for Guffman or, for that matter, a rock music fan to laugh at This Is Spinal Tap. Guest's approach is summed up in the quote: "I am interested in the notion that people can become so obsessed by their world that they lose sense and awareness of how they appear to other people." As long as they know their world, you don't need to. You just have to watch them get caught up in it. As far as the Blu-ray is concerned, it's a faithful representation of the film. Just don't expect something glossy. Those who already own the DVD might reasonably decide to stick with it, since there are no new features. Otherwise, highly recommended.