10 Greatest Mockumentary Films Of All Time
8. Waiting For Guffman
Waiting For Guffman is a loving satire on small town America and all the nuance and eccentricity that comes along with this slice of American bumble pie. It’s about as American as hot dogs, pumpkin pie and drone bombings.
Set in Blaine, Missouri- the ‘Stool Capital of America’- Waiting For Guffman lampoons the nature of community theatre and amateur dramatics as Christopher Guest uses every tool in the satirists armoury from the needle to the jackhammer to create a town and environment once step removed from reality.
Featuring many of Guest’s favourite comedians and members of the Second City improv group such as Bob Balaban, the town’s musical director, cross eyed dentist Eugene Levy and married couple Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara, travel agents who’ve never left their home town.
Despite all the snarky comments, downward aimed quips and apparent mockery for the artistically stunted, Waiting for Guffman is a sonnet written for small town America and a love letter to those amateur dramatic productions that people will pour their passion into regardless of the budget or the crowd size.
It also has maybe the funniest end credits scene going in its favour.