Mascots (2016)
October 18, 2016 7:17 AM - Subscribe
A look into the world of competitive mascots.
Mascots from all over the world converge on Anaheim, California for the World Mascot Championships. Meet Alvin the Armadillo, The Fist, Sid the Hedgehog, and more in the newest entry in Christopher Guest's mockumentary oeuvre!
Mascots from all over the world converge on Anaheim, California for the World Mascot Championships. Meet Alvin the Armadillo, The Fist, Sid the Hedgehog, and more in the newest entry in Christopher Guest's mockumentary oeuvre!
I was very excited about this and watched it last night--my feelings on it are the same as yours, unfortunately.
There were a lot of little touches I liked, but overall it was just kind of ho-hum. It felt like maybe we didn't get enough on the characters? Three judges with their own backstories, five different mascot acts plus their family/support people, the production itself, the TV channel--there were too many personalities to keep track of and we didn't get enough time with any of them, so it came out pretty scattered. (Compare to Best in Show, where we had five dogs and their immediate handlers only, the production with minimal personal backstory, the hotel with minimal personal backstory, and the commentary guys who were topical with no personality depth. Much more focused.)
It probably won't be on my obsessive re-watch list like other Christopher Guest movies, but it's ok.
posted by phunniemee at 7:50 AM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
There were a lot of little touches I liked, but overall it was just kind of ho-hum. It felt like maybe we didn't get enough on the characters? Three judges with their own backstories, five different mascot acts plus their family/support people, the production itself, the TV channel--there were too many personalities to keep track of and we didn't get enough time with any of them, so it came out pretty scattered. (Compare to Best in Show, where we had five dogs and their immediate handlers only, the production with minimal personal backstory, the hotel with minimal personal backstory, and the commentary guys who were topical with no personality depth. Much more focused.)
It probably won't be on my obsessive re-watch list like other Christopher Guest movies, but it's ok.
posted by phunniemee at 7:50 AM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Corky St. Clair is one of my all-time favorite characters in the history of film, and my disappointment-level in his resurrection and Mascots in general hovers around... crushed. I laughed a couple of times, especially during the actual mascot-performance shenanigans, but overall it just felt kind of dismal and unfocused and generally unfunny. Too many characters with only superficial glimpses at their stories... not enough to hook me into caring. Like, each of the characters in Guffman break my heart - we're clued into so much about their lives and their hopes for the future and the desperation that fuels their community theater passions! I didn't get that here and just generally felt kind of gross about everybody.
I know that my expectations were way too high, and I'll give it another chance once I've had a little time to get over myself. [Picture me all morose in a bathtub, while my friends pound on the door, screaming that they love me and want me to live]
posted by kittyb at 11:22 AM on October 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
I know that my expectations were way too high, and I'll give it another chance once I've had a little time to get over myself. [Picture me all morose in a bathtub, while my friends pound on the door, screaming that they love me and want me to live]
posted by kittyb at 11:22 AM on October 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
Genial enough. I need to see Chris O'Dowd in more bad-boy roles. For science.
posted by psoas at 1:43 PM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by psoas at 1:43 PM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
kittyb, you're exactly right that we didn't get any of the *character* that Guffman, Best in Show, and even Mighty Wind did so well. Parker Posey tried, but it was no sad chicken breast on a charcoal grill moment.
It was all too shallow, which is something I've never thought about a Guest movie before.
posted by altopower at 2:03 PM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
It was all too shallow, which is something I've never thought about a Guest movie before.
posted by altopower at 2:03 PM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
Very unfunny, and quite dull considering the people involved. It makes me worried that all the previous Christopher Guest movies are not as good as I remember them. I think the missing ingredient then must be Eugene Levy as co-writer. And while he must be busy with his own show, Schitt's Creek, has there been any speculation about why he wasn't involved? Similar, but not quite as dire, are Wes Anderson movies without Owen Wilson co-writing.
posted by love is a murderer at 8:51 AM on October 19, 2016
posted by love is a murderer at 8:51 AM on October 19, 2016
Poo jokes always get a laugh in this house.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:53 PM on October 23, 2016
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:53 PM on October 23, 2016
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That being said, I was so happy to see Corky again.
posted by altopower at 7:27 AM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]