Best in Show

Mockumentary maestro Christopher Guest--the driving force behind This Is Spinal Tap and Waiting For Guffman--aims his satirical squirt gun at obsessive dog owners in his latest tongue-in-cheek, interview vérité offering. Casting a wide net across kitschy Americana, Guest's cameras capture a handful of mildly lunatic canine caretakers (high strung yuppie couple, lonely suburbanites, etc.) as they travel to and prepare for a prestigious dog show. The movie's 90 minute run time is a little generous, but the film is full of perfectly-tuned high camp performances from Waiting for Guffman alumni Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey and others, all playing nut-case dog owners. A strong, optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)