History Film / WaitingForGuffman

* SmallNameBigEgo: Corky, in spades. Despite being what most working New York theater actors would consider pathetic, Corky thinks of himself as a visionary ''artiste''.

* TransparentCloset: Corky St. Clair

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler: Libby Mae ends up getting her wish and leaving Blaine after the show... only instead of New York City, [[HereWeGoAgain she's stuck in Sipes, Alabama, working at the local Dairy Queen...]]]]]

* SmallTownBoredom: Libby Mae is clearly stifled by slow-moving life in Blaine and sees the show as her chance to break out and move to New York.

* TheBeard: See Girlfriend In Canada.

* BittersweetEnding: Verging closely toward DownerEnding; [[spoiler: Guffman never shows up and the cast fail to get any of the career breakthroughs from the show that they hoped for, but it ends up being a hit with everyone who sees it. During the epilogue, we see that Corky, Allan, and the Albertsons have all gone on to do something that they enjoy (albeit to little genuine success) and are all quite satisfied with where their lives have gone, but Libby Mae is still stuck in Blaine and is clearly more miserable than she was at the beginning of the film now that her father has returned from prison.]]

* CampGay: Corky has all of the mannerisms. However, he claims to have a wife, but she is never seen.

* OnlySaneMan: Lloyd Miller and Dr. Pearl's wife seem to be the only ones in town who don't reside entirely in [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Cloudcuckooland]], but his lack of assertiveness and her naivete mean they don't get much traction in dealing with the others.

''Waiting for Guffman'' is a 1997 {{Mockumentary}} co-written and directed by Creator/ChristopherGuest, who stars along with Creator/CatherineOHara, Creator/EugeneLevy, Creator/Fred Willard, Creator/ParkerPosey, Creator/BobBalaban, and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.

''Waiting for Guffman'' is a 1997 {{Mockumentary}} co-written and directed by Creator/ChristopherGuest, who stars along with Creator/CatherineOHara, Creator/EugeneLevy, Fred Willard, Creator/ParkerPosey, Creator/BobBalaban, and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.

* CampGay: Corky has all of the mannerisms.

-->'''"Susan"''' ''(after pulling the plug hooked up to her brother in his hospital bed)'': And [[BortherSisterIncest who's on top and who's on bottom]], now? Huh? [[SuddenlyShouting WHO'S ON TOP AND WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW]]? I'll see you in Hell, Billy, but at least '''I'm''' gonna have some fun before I get there!

-->'''"Susan"''' ''(after pulling the plug hooked up to her brother in his hospital bed)'': And who's on top and who's on bottom, now? Huh? [[SuddenlyShouting WHO'S ON TOP AND WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW]]? I'll see you in Hell, Billy, but at least '''I'm''' gonna have some fun before I get there!

* AccidentalInnuendo: Corky tells off the town council by saying he's going to go home and bite his pillow, which to most gay ears is that he's going to drown his sorrows by getting fucked.

* AllGaysLoveTheater

''Waiting for Guffman'' is a 1997 {{Mockumentary}} co-written and directed by Creator/ChristopherGuest, who stars along with Creator/CatherineOHara, Creator/EugeneLevy, Fred Willard, Creator/ParkerPosey, Bob Balaban, and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.

The title of the film is a reference to the Samuel Beckett play, ''{{Waiting for Godot}}'' — similarly, the titular character never appears. As in the other mockumentaries created by Guest, the majority of the dialogue is improvised. Because the film is about the production of a stage musical, it contains several original musical numbers.

[[quoteright:305:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Waiting_for_Guffman_3627.jpg]]

''Waiting for Guffman'' is a {{Mockumentary}} starring, co-written and directed by Creator/ChristopherGuest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Creator/EugeneLevy, Fred Willard, Creator/ParkerPosey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.

The residents of Blaine, Missouri - the self-proclaimed home of the first UFO landing in the United States (Blaine residents beg to differ with Roswell's claims) and stool capital of the world - are excited about the town's upcoming sesquicentennial celebration, which will have as its centerpiece the original musical production, "Red, White and Blaine." Corky St. Clair, the musical's writer/composer and former New York theater professional (off off off off Broadway) who currently leads the Blaine Community Players, will helm the production, assisted by high school music teacher Lloyd Miller. Corky and Lloyd are excited about their 'talented' cast of locals and the production as a whole, though Corky and Lloyd are themselves as untalented and unaware as their cast. Corky and company are especially anticipating the presence of a representative of the prestigious New York based Oppenheimer Organization, Mort Guffman, in the audience on opening night. In Corky's mind, a favorable review from Guffman means that the production is heading to Broadway. Through all the ups and downs (and more downs) of the pre-production, everyone in Blaine still can't wait for opening night and the arrival of Guffman, upon whom the cast and crew's dreams rest.

* [[CaliforniaDoubling Texas Doubling]]: The exterior shots of Blaine, Missouri are actually the town of Lockhart, while most of the interiors were filmed in nearby Austin.

* ArtisticLicenseMusic: In the overture, someone decided to dub in MIDI instruments, despite a live orchestra being the ones playing. This is either a gigantic InJoke to musicians, or an EpicFail on behalf of the music editor. It's not {{Lampshaded}}.
** WordOfGod stated that the musicians performed ''too'' well for the musical to be funny.

* BiggusDickus: Ron is apparently quite large down there, turns out that he went Jefferson City for a reduction surgery. Apparently [[BiggerIsBetterInBed Bigger Is]] ''[[AvertedTrope Not]]'' [[BiggerIsBetterInBed Better In Bed]]

* MeaningfulName: The name of the producer that everyone wants to impress is called Mort Guffman which the characters pronounce as "MacGuffin".

* MeaningfulName: The name of the producer that everyone wants to impress is called Mort Guffin which the characters pronounce as "MacGuffin".