Line #39 Film/AMightyWind


1	[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_mighty_wind.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:315:''[[{{Tagline}} Back together for the first time, again.]]'']]
3
4	->''"Oh, a mighty wind's a-blowin', it's kickin' up the sand...\
5	It's blowin' out a message to every woman, child and man..."''
6
7	''A Mighty Wind'' is a 2003 American {{mockumentary}} film about a reunion of FolkMusic singers, directed by Creator/ChristopherGuest. The movie's satirical comedy is comparable to that of Guest's earlier films, ''[[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap This is Spın̈al Tap]]'', ''Film/WaitingForGuffman'', and ''Film/BestInShow'', and features an EnsembleCast comparable to ([[ProductionPosse and including many of the same people as]]) those films, including Guest, Creator/EugeneLevy (who co-wrote the screenplay with Guest), Creator/CatherineOHara, Creator/MichaelMcKean, Creator/HarryShearer, Creator/JohnMichaelHiggins, Creator/JaneLynch, Creator/ParkerPosey, Creator/FredWillard, Creator/BobBalaban and Creator/JenniferCoolidge.
8
9	[[PlotTriggeringDeath The plot is started by the death of Irving Steinbloom]], a folk music producer, whose children plan a reunion concert with several of the bands he worked with to honor his memory. However, there are several things that make this difficult, such as the fact that once-married duo Mitch & Mickey (Levy, O'Hara) haven't spoken for decades since their messy breakup, and Mitch's resulting CreatorBreakdown. Not to mention emerging tensions between the members of The Folksmen trio (Guest, [=McKean=], Shearer), and the fact that the New Main Street Singers are an ersatz revival of the original group managed by former sitcom star Mike [=LaFontaine=] (Willard).
10
11	Presented as an AffectionateParody of the [[TheSixties '60s]] folk music revival, the movie received largely positive reviews, with particular praise going towards the performances and the music within.
12
13	"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" earned a nomination for MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong, making it somewhat of a {{Defictionalization}}.
14
15	-----
16	!!Contains examples of:
17
18	* AbusiveParent: Terry Bohner was subjected to a strange sort of abuse by his father--being locked in a room, made to listen to a single record on repeat, and then sent to bed with nothing but dessert.
19	* AffectionateParody: Of the folk music revival of TheSixties and its personalities.
20	* AuthorAppeal: Christopher Guest and company love folk music. Some have noted that that's the reason it's not as incisive or satirical as ''[[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap This is Spın̈al Tap]]''.
21	* BeardOfSorrow: Mitch sported one on the cover of his solo album ''Calling It Quits''.
22	* TheBenchwarmer: Exactly what does George Menschell do in the New Main Street Singers? On stage he never plays his guitar, never sings lead, and often doesn't sing at all, leading one to wonder if his microphone is even turned on. Off stage he offers no input during practice sessions and does nothing to promote the band, not even when prompted by band manager Mike [=LaFontaine=]. It seems his only reason for hanging around is a mutually beneficial connection to the original Main Street Singers.
23	* BigFinaleCrowdSong: The final performance of the Irving Steinbloom memorial concert has all three bands join together for a rendition of the title song, "A Mighty Wind". After that, the film is basically over.
24	* BlandNameProduct: The Public Broadcasting Network ([=PBN=]) is a stand-in for the [[Creator/{{PBS}} Public Broadcasting Service]].
25	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Leonard shows Mitch his model trainset of "Crabbetown." It includes a mine, the logging camp... and the brothel downtown.
26	* CastingGag: The Folksmen are played by Creator/ChristopherGuest, Creator/MichaelMcKean, and Creator/HarryShearer, AKA [[Film/SpinalTap Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins, and Derek Smalls]].
27	* CharacterCatchphrase: Mike [=LaFontaine=] is convinced that he can build a SitCom around [[StylisticSuck groanworthy, revoltingly unfunny catchphrases]] such as "Wha' happen?", "I don't think so!", and "I got a [[ElmuhFuddSyndwome weal wed wagon]]!", and keeps trying to shoehorn these into everything he produces.
28	* ControlFreak: Johnathan Steinbloom is ''insanely'' neurotic to the point of irritation; he worries that the floral arrangements will poke people's eyes out, that because the stagehands are setting up the microphones in two parts that the performers won't have microphones and that putting a three-dimensional stage prop next to two-dimensional ones will cause...[[InsaneTrollLogic a problem of some sort]]. This earns him a DopeSlap from the stage manager.
29	* CreatorBreakdown: In-Universe, Mitch Cohen recorded several solo albums (one of which provides the image source) when he broke up with Mickey. The names and themes [[https://youtu.be/v-fEPYtdM3A get progressively more depressive]].
30	* CrossdressingVoices: Christopher Guest does the voices of ''both'' the man and woman who are making love in the hotel room next to Mitch.
31	* {{Cult}}: The WINC (Witches in Nature's Colors), a coven that worships the power of color founded by Terry and Laurie.
32	* DarkAndTroubledPast: applies to many of the characters but most of all Mitch, Laurie, and Sissy. Mitch had a mega-breakdown after breaking up with Mickey, which led him to release two increasingly despondent solo albums (''Cry For Help'', whose cover shows him in a padded room, and ''Calling It Quits,'' showing him digging his own grave) before ultimately being committed for (ultimately unsuccessful) psychiatric treatment. Laurie and Sissy, meanwhile, were both teenage runaways: Laurie found initial success in San Francisco doing cheap, degrading pornography while Sissy lived on the streets before turning her life around.
33	* TheDitz: Amber Cole.
34	-->"Thank God for model trains, you know? If they didn't have the model train they wouldn't have gotten the idea for the big trains."
35	* DopeSlap: Jonathan Steinbloom is on the receiving end of one of these after the stage manager gets increasingly irritated with his inane questions. [[ThrowItIn The slap was entirely unscripted]], and it broke up the entire crew. This is why the shot cuts away so quickly afterward, due to cast laughter on the soundtrack.
36	* FakeBand: Several of them, in fact, but the performances are real. Much of the music was arranged by John Michael Higgins, who played Terry Bohner; and several cast members spent months learning to play their instruments, having never studied music before signing on for the movie. And, in something of a {{Defictionalization}}, most of the cast performed in character for a brief concert tour after the film's release. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara also sang the movie's Oscar-nominated song ''in character'' as Mitch & Mickey [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNbvsh1S9DA at the 76th Annual Academy Awards]]. The Folksmen actually predate the movie, and have opened for [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap Spın̈al Tap]] from time to time. Some Spın̈al Tap fans didn't even realize that they were the same people. As one might imagine, Tap fans tend ''not'' to be into folk music and sometimes indicated this rather vocally at the concerts, making Guest, [=McKean=], and Shearer one of the few groups to ever be booed offstage in favor of ''themselves''.
37	* FreezeFrameBonus: When the Variety issue covering ''Wha' Happened'' is on screen, the review states the show was on air for only ''four'' episodes before being cancelled and was [=LaFontaine=]'s third failed show in the past year and a half.
38	** Look closely at the covers for Mitch's solo albums and you'll notice they were released by "Rube Records" ("rube" being a term for an awkward, simplistic person...)
39	* GeniusDitz: Mitch may be a bit empty-headed, but ''damn'', the man can play.
40	* HoldingTheFloor: Mitch goes missing during the concert, forcing the Folksmen to stall for time with extra songs and an extended monologue introducing their next one before Mitch is found and he and Mickey can go onstage.
41	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The Folksmen use a one-word title for their first five abums, with a missing final "g", eg. ''Pickin'''. Their 6th album is titled ''Saying Something''. They attribute the subsequent loss of their fanbase to that change in a scene cut from the theatrical release, but available in the DVD extras. That album was also the first where they used electric instruments, instead of strictly acoustic; parodying the fan and critic controversy over Bob Dylan's move to electric instruments on 1965's ''Bringing It All Back Home'' and the 1966 world tour.
42	* {{Improv}}: As with Guest, [=McKean=], and Shearer's other mockumentaries, the movie is composed of unscripted performances by actors who have gotten in-character.
43	* InsaneTrollLogic: Terry's rationalization of his and Laurie's cult religion.
44	--> "This is not an occult science. This is not one of those crazy systems of divination and astrology. That stuff's hooey, and you've got to have a screw loose to go in for that sort of thing. Our beliefs are fairly commonplace and simple to understand. Humankind is simply materialized color operating on the 49th vibration. You would make that conclusion walking down the street or going to the store."
45	* LighterAndSofter: Than most of Guest's other mockumentaries, which are broadly more cynical and get their laughs by following either unlikable characters with no talent or washed-up ones years past their prime. ''A Mighty Wind'', while having its fair share of cynical moments, has mostly likable characters and ends on a broadly uplifting if slightly bittersweet note.
46	* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: Mitch. While in the hospital after being beaten severely while defending Mickey (whom he didn't know at the time), he wrote for her a romantic poem that she saved for decades, and read at the reunion concert. After she finishes reading, Mitch states, "I only wanted a drink of water." The song for which they were famous ("A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow") ended with a kiss, that was described by one critic as "the most important kiss in history." During the show, they do perform the kiss, and the entire cast of other musicians have come to the wings to see if they were going to do it. However, after the show, Mitch worries that Mickey might have been "caught up in the theatrics of the moment." Their album covers portrayed them as being in love, and the wonderful song "When I'm Next To You." (which didn't make the cut, but was played during the credits) described how the singer felt standing, holding hands with, kissing, and "lying with" his lover.
47	* {{Mockumentary}}: In typical Creator/ChristopherGuest fashion, the film follows several folk groups as they prepare for and eventually perform at a memorial concert in honor of the man who gave them their big break.
48	* MoodWhiplash: Hearty, wholesome Laurie's account of her earlier life has a WaitWhat moment fairly early on.
49	-->'''Laurie''': I was brought up in a very small town, south of the Chicago city limits. Just far enough away to have been peopled with pure, unadulterated white trash. And because I was one of so many children, I don't believe that anyone noticed when I blew town at 15 and ended up in San Francisco, California. ''[smiles]'' And it's at this point in my story that the dark clouds part, because I met a certain Mr. Wiseman, who gave me a job in his shop. And before long, he tapped me to do some small roles in some of his short films for more mature audiences. ''[cheeky wink]'' And before long, I had landed, if you will, some leads... and then I started to do some, uh, cameos. ''[Terry looks deeply uncomfortable]'' Well, I was known for doing a [[NoodleIncident certain thing]], that many of the other girls wouldn't do.
50	* MusicalisInterruptus: "The Skeletons of Quinto". After a 20 minute (off-screen) introduction explaining the song while stalling for time, the Folksmen are rushed off-stage before they can sing it by the arrival of Mitch and Mickey.
51	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: All the fictional acts are [[AffectionateParody Affectionate Parodies]] of real ones:
52	** Mitch and Mickey – Ian and Sylvia, and to a lesser extent Music/BobDylan and Music/JoanBaez.
53	** The Folksmen – The Kingston Trio and Chad Mitchell Trio. (And possibly Music/PeterPaulAndMary, per the closing gag!)
54	** The New Main Street Singers – The New Christy Minstrels, Serendipity Singers and Rooftop Singers, possibly along with the New Seekers, who were also formed from the ashes of a similarly named group by one of that group's former members.
55	** Irving Steinbloom is based on real-life folk impresarios Harold Leventhal and Albert Grossman.
56	** Ramblin' Jack Elliott is briefly represented with a character called Ramblin' Sandy Pitnik (mocking the fact that despite his cowboy persona, Elliott was a middle class Jew).
57	* PatterSong: "Old Joe's Place", the Folksmen's big hit from TheSixties, has a chorus which gradually builds itself up as one of these, in addition to being a ListSong about all the attractions of the titular [[LocalHangout Old Joe's Place]].
58	--> ''Well, there's a puppy in the parlor and a skillet on the stove''
59	--> ''And a smelly old blanket that a Navajo wove''
60	--> ''There's popcorn in the popper and a porker in the pot''
61	--> ''There's a pie in the pantry and the coffee's always hot''
62	--> ''There's sausage in the mornin' and a party every night''
63	--> ''There's a nurse on duty if you don't feel right''
64	--> ''There's chicken on the the table but you gotta say grace ([[CatharticExhalation Whew]]!)''
65	--> ''There's always something cookin' at Old Joe's Place''
66	* PerfectlyCromulentWord: The New Main Street Singers, a nine-person ensemble, are referred to as a ''neuftet''.
67	* PointyHairedBoss: Mike [=LaFontaine=] is a failed sitcom star who clearly doesn't know how to manage the New Main Street Singers, and keeps trying to finagle unfunny gimmicks into their act. Subverted at the end, where against all common sense he manages to get them a gig on a TV show where [[HighConcept they play nine supreme court justices who are also folk singers and all live together]].
68	* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Mike [=LaFontaine=] apparently thinks that ''Literature/MobyDick'' is about a pirate captain named Moby Dick who "was chasing some big whale", and whose CharacterCatchphrase was "There she blows!" and tries to get the New Main Street Singers to incorporate something like that into their performance of "Fare Away".
69	* PretenderDiss: The Folksmen see the New Main Street Singers as a cash grab with none of the passion of the original group. Doesn't mean they aren't able to play together.
70	* RailEnthusiast: Mickey's husband, Leonard.
71	* RightThroughTheWall: Happens to Mitch. Over and over again.
72	* RunawayTrain: "Blood on the Coal" by the Folksmen is a song about a runaway train ''in'' a coal mine. (The song actually predates the movie, and the joke is that all folk bands had a song about either a mine disaster or a train wreck, so The Folksmen had decided to combine the two by having a song about a train wreck ''inside'' a coal mine.)
73	* RunningGag: Mike [=LaFontaine=] had once starred on a television sitcom called ''Wha' Happened?'', in which he tried to make "Wha' happened?" a CatchPhrase that would sweep the nation (the show was cancelled due to "complete lack of interest"). He continues to use the phrase throughout the movie.
74	* SideBet: One is made right at the end, regarding whether Mitch & Mickey would kiss at the end of their signature song.
75	* SpaceWhaleAesop: Parodied. Paying close attention to the lyrics of The New Main Street Singers' "The Good Book Song" reveals the the moral is something like "Obey the word of God or humans will evolve into mermaids and be ruled over by giants" without actually explaining how any of that is bad.
76	* TheStoner: Mitch comes off as either this or a suffer of a decades-long HeroicBSOD.
77	* TakeThat:
78	-->"They're PBN viewers. I don't think they have remotes."
79	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: After getting signaled to keep performing (while the crew tries to find Mitch), Alan Barrows and Mark Shubb take the opportunity to do "The Skeletons of Quinto," which Jerry had shot down. When they begin discussing the history of the Spanish Civil War, Jerry slowly rolls his eyes shut.
80	* ToiletHumor: Mickey is married to a catheter salesman. Also, the film's title refers to a song at the end of the film whose lyrics form a massive veiled fart joke.
81	* VitriolicBestBuds: For all the [[PassiveAggressiveKombat petty passive-aggressive arguing]] they get into about their set list and the minor details of their act, The Folksmen share an unbreakable bond of musical talent and are TrueCompanions. They even are shown to have gotten back together after the Steinbloom memorial concert and are once again performing gigs [[spoiler:and while Jerry and Alan are shown as being clearly perplexed about Mark's new gender transition, they don't hold it against her and continue to perform with her unabated after she comes out]].
82	* VocalDissonance: Mark Shubb at the end of the film has transitioned to living as a woman (a new name is not provided for her) - but her voice is still as baritone bass as it was when she was when she lived as a man.
83	* WanderlustSong: "Never Did No Wanderin'" - parodied in that, as the title suggests, it's about all the traveling the narrator ''hasn't'' gotten to do.
84	* WillTheyOrWontThey: An interesting case. The running emotional core of the film is Mitch and Mickey's relationship, being America's sweethearts in the past and famous for a song with a kiss but now having messily parted ways and moved on. The "will they or won't they" isn't exactly about them rekindling their romance, but there is tension about whether they will be able to re-create the famous kiss during their performance of "A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow" at Steinbloom's concert. [[spoiler: They perform the kiss, with Mickey seeming to treat it as closure, while Mitch innocently says he felt nothing and treated it as part of the act.]]
85	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Amber Cole's bizarre dialect, which sounds slightly like a cross between a Spanish and German accent. Lampshaded by Christopher Guest in the commentary: "You can narrow [her accent] down to a continent..."
86	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: As is customary with Christopher Guest movies. (Real documentaries almost always have them.)
87	* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Lars Olfen is the ''king'' of this trope, despite being so incredibly Swedish it hurts.
88	--> "The naches[[note]]Pride[[/note]] that I'm feeling right now... 'cause your dad was like mishpoche[[note]]Extended family[[/note]] to me. When I heard I got these ticket to the Folksmen, I let out a geshreeyeh[[note]]Scream[[/note]], and I'm running with my friend... running around like a vilde chaye[[note]]Undisciplined child[[/note]], right into the theater, in the front row! So we've got the shpilkes[[note]]State of impatience, agitation[[/note]], 'cause we're sittin' right there... and it's a mitzvah[[note]]A good deed[[/note]], what your dad did, and I want to try to give that back to you. a kinnehura[[note]]no evil eye, or "knock wood"[[/note]], I say, and God bless him!"

Context Film / AMightyWind