A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
Variety is the spice of real life in this "Home"
PopcornReel.com Film Review: "A Prairie Home
Companion"
By Omar P.L. Moore/June 9, 2006
Home, sweet "Home": Garrison Keillor as G.K.,
with Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan; Tommy Lee Jones and Virginia Madsen; Woody
Harrelson and John C. Reilly as Dusty and Lefty, in Robert Altman's "A Prairie
Home Companion". (Photos: Melinda Sue Gordon)
Garrison Keillor's real-life radio show "A Prairie Home
Companion" is fictionalized in Robert Altman's film of the same name, and to
delightful effect. The Minnesota-based variety show is quaint and amusing
on film and well-choreographed by Mssrs. Altman and Keillor. In the film Mr.
Keillor's show has a 1940's "down-home" feel, and it has been ordered to cease
production, as a corporate giant is buying out and taking over the radio station
WLZ and making changes to its line up. The film focuses on the show's
final broadcast before signing off for good. The show is on radio but
takes place before a live theater audience, making it more exciting and even
more-in-the-moment for the actors.
Along the way there are more than a few things going on behind the scenes that
occasionally creep into the show's content. A lot of things have been left
unsaid by the long-serving cast members over the years of the show, which burst
to the forefront during the final radiocast. Meryl Streep's character
Yolanda is unhappy at G.K. (Mr. Keillor) for his inattentiveness and backhanded
rejection of her love for him; and Kevin Kline's private eye character Guy Noir
is initially the only one that can see the apparition-like figure of Virginia
Masden, a woman who likes to show some of the people she touches the other side
of life. The credits bill her as playing a "dangerous woman", but she
appears more like a "charming" grim reaper with polite intentions. The
variety show features the exploits of a singing duo Dusty and Lefty (Woody
Harrelson and John C. Reilly) who have salty and salacious lyrics in their
repertoire, along with some R-rated jokes. Thankfully the Federal
Communications Commission wasn't around, or the show may have been pulled more
prematurely! Characters Noir, Dusty and Lefty are all from Mr. Keillor's
actual radio show, which has been on the air and based in St. Paul, Minnesota
for over 30 years. Several of the actors on screen in Mr. Altman's film
are from Mr. Keillor's show, including Sue Scott and Tim Russell, and Linda and
Robin Williams (a song-writing couple) and Jearlyn Steele, a gospel singer.
Ms. Streep has a sister in Rhonda (Lily Tomlin) and as singing duo "The Johnson
Sisters" they sing about men and family -- and spend time recalling the single
mother who brought them up into stardom. These sisters get along famously.
Ms. Tomlin and Ms. Streep look very comfortable and convincing as sisters -- if
they weren't legends in their own right their natural chemistry would make them
dead ringers for sisters. Ms. Streep's onscreen daughter is Lindsay Lohan
(as Lola) who in her first serious role does well as a gifted self-absorbed
young woman who sulks and skulks around the ladies' dressing room and writes
poems on suicide. She does not take her ability to write seriously enough
but she is prodded to showcase herself when she least wants to. There is
also Molly, the production assistant (Maya Rudolph) who is the butt of several
jokes. Molly's pregnant condition prompts Mr. Noir to say something to the
effect of, "you ought to stop eating so much and having so much sex with
different men." Mr. Keillor wrote the screenplay and he and Ken LaZebnik
devised the story.
Robert Altman's ensemble cast look and play the part well, making the wheels of
this improvisational show run. For Mr. Keillor this is a breeze, as his
real-life show is being replayed before his very eyes. Where another actor may
have been going through the motions, Mr. Keillor looks to be enjoying every
moment, even if he doesn't have a smile etched on his face. A number of
the actors here have stage experience, which naturally is a great asset to this
film. Mr. Altman's foray into variety show radio is seamless -- his
direction looks effortless. The only drawback of the film however, are
scenes involving Tommy Lee Jones' character Axeman, who represents the company
buying out the show's radio station. Mr. Jones' scenes appear removed from
the narrative, somewhat distant -- though perhaps this is by design on Mr.
Altman's part, as Mr. Jones as a corporate big wig is naturally supposed to come
off as cold and indifferent to the many years of fun and memories the venerable
group of show performers have had on the radio station.
"A Prairie Home Companion" is sweet, funny, peaceful and light-hearted - a good
bit of entertainment that never gets overly sentimental or too smart for its own
good. As this film shows, Mr. Altman at 80, continues to make consistently
good films and there's no stopping him at this or any age.
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