I love this movie so much

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I have been in the dog field since I was a teenager, from the time I was 15, when I started volunteering at the local shelter. I am still a shelter volunteer but now work in the dog grooming industry. Let me tell you, this mockumentary nails the colourful array of people that are in the industry perfectly! I last saw this movie in the early 2000s and I have to say, it gets better with each viewing. The cast is perfect for the roles of each eccentric who throws themselves in the world of Conformation dog showing, form the handlers, to the owners and to the announcers and host. Of course, I can't leave out the gorgeous dogs who steal each and everyone of their scenes.

It's another Christopher Guest mockumentary and with a cast full of certified comic geniuses it's hard to see how Guest could go wrong. Look at who Guest has at his disposal: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Fred Willard. Is that enough? No? OK, let's toss in Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch and Ed Begley, Jr. And of course there's also Guest himself as a key part of the ensemble. These are hilariously funny people. Which makes the fact that this is not a hilariously funny movie a little puzzling. Best in Show is funny but not outrageously so. A funny idea, certainly a funny cast, but not a consistently funny movie. There are a few really funny moments. But the movie ends up producing more wry smiles than big laughs. It leaves you wanting more.The movie takes place in the rather bizarre dog show world. We focus on five dogs, and their inevitably strange owners, as they make the trek to and ultimately compete in the big dog show in Philadelphia. There's a guy who literally has two left feet and whose wife apparently has slept with every man on the planet. There's a campy gay couple and a neurotic yuppie couple. A trophy wife, married to an oblivious elderly man, and her lesbian dog handler. And an aspiring ventriloquist. All in all a weird bunch. At times perhaps a little too weird for the movie's good. A lot of strange things happen to these strange people. Some of these things are funny but there are a bunch of gags and jokes which fall flat. The movie perks up a bit when we finally get to the dog show itself. That is thanks largely to the presence of Willard who plays perhaps the world's worst television color commentator. He's clearly the funniest thing this movie has going for it. All the other performers do reasonably well but there are times where things just seem a bit off. Maybe the story doesn't quite work, maybe the characters aren't really developed properly. With all these great comic stars you expect hilarity and you don't really get that. The stars do the best they can with the material but you feel that the material let them down a bit. They all have their moments. Posey in particular does really well. And even in a film chock-full of performers with such notable reputations there's room for some lesser-known actors, such as Michael Hitchcock and John Michael Higgins, to turn in good work as well. There's just the sense that director Guest didn't quite pull it all together. This is a movie with such a great cast. That cast could have been put to a little bit better use. Best in Show had such great promise. But just as only one dog can win the trophy not every film is destined for greatness. This film falls a little bit short.

I read Christophe Guest's bio and found a couple of statements to be offensive...intentional or not...they were both terse and quite stupid. Voicing his low opinion of Americans and their comedic viewing habits, slaps the faces of the majority of his drone-like fan-base willing to empty their wallets, just to be bored - once again. Apparently many of his fans either agree with his self-aggrandizing opinion or choose to ignore it, I don't really care. Whether you agree with him or not, usually a person goes to a movie to be solely entertained (granted some depend entirely on movies to feed their brains) - to each his or her own. There are a lot of people in Hollyweird I probably would not even like to share the same oxygen, but I will always appreciate talent. That being said, I am so glad I did not spend money on this twaddle, it was not entertaining and definitely not funny. I know, some people thought this was really funny…great…that is your opinion. I found it to be a marginal, at best. Not being a Thurston Howell the Third or Lovey, or like any of those 'intelligent' type viewers, I found this low-brow comedy to be - well - more of an un-comedy. Honestly, "Best in Show", is not even close to 'Spinal Tap'. To think that this is an example of 'silliness framed in intelligence' and being so much better than that 'stupid American Comedy' – give me a break…this thing is way off base. Is this movie really a mess – sure it is. Is it weak in the humor (or would that be humor?) department? If there was any humor to speak of - yes. Is the plot lacking - no - it's just missing altogether. in closing, I feel that this movie may be intended for some elite crowd but misses entirely, and gravitates to a more narcissistic element. Not my choice

The world of dog shows is ripe for the picking, when it comes to mocking your subject and the characters that inhabit it's rings. But that is not really what Christopher Guest has ever done.I watched this to remind myself what I love about this style of film. The characters develop naturally, by shedding layers of pretense when they "don't know we are watching" and suddenly pulling themselves together in a vain attempt to convince the viewer that we just caught them at a bad moment. It's a brilliant way to show us the lives of people on a mission. When you allow yourself to forget that you are watching a movie, and plunge into the documentation of these people's lives, you experience the sheer joy of being in on the joke, through the eyes of the camera crew. The behind the scenes workers who toil away on big budget films, and get to see the reality behind the surreal world of personas and personalities. Guest takes us deep into the lives of the ordinary person, who is trying to live an extraordinary life. This time, they do it through the dogs they own, or show.They have dreams, and delusions, but the one thing you feel with Guest, that I appreciate now more than ever, is that he genuinely enjoys the human condition. He likes people. He cares about his audience, and he is in on the joke with us. We are not the butt of the joke, and we are never insulted for loving Dog Shows, Community Theater, or even the Rock Stars in a giant arena. Everybody loves a show, or to be a part of the show. NOT everybody gets to be a big star. To be the winner. To be noticed for what they feel is their unique gift or talent. Rather than exploit that, and "mock" it in a cruel and unfunny fashion, Guest reminds us that within our little circle, and in our own ways, we can all feel like stars. And it nobody has to get hurt in the process. I watched this film, in part, to recover from what I felt was an abysmal failure to make a Mockumentary style film about writers. Authors Anonymous. It fails where Guest shines. There are people acting their hearts out in old citrus warehouses, and others are packing up their RV's to head out to another dog show. These life stories, and their sometimes absurd details, make for hopeful films that salute the human spirit. The spirit of competition is a theme Guest tackles with grace, and a divine objective "everyone can be a star" sensibility that pays homage to our desire to feel special, and rewards it at times, in the most delightful fashion. The underdog. That is what he brings us time and again, in new forms. This time, with actual dogs in the mix! Mock umentary should mean "mocking the style of the documentary film" Not mocking the people who are the subject of the film Even when the film is about insufferable boobs. We learn enough about them to begin to understand what makes them tick, what holds them together, and what causes them to come unglued. We end up caring. Dog Shows are silly, but the people are far more complex. Dog shows are filled with pretentious snobs, in "real life" Easy prey. Not so easy to make a movie that works, much less can make us root for these people on any level, but he did it again. And is it ever fun to watch.