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Reviews Counted:186
Fresh:151
Rotten:35
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: The final film by the great Robert Altman, A Prairie Home Companion, the big screen adaptation of Garrison Keillor's radio broadcast, showcases plenty of the director's strengths: it's got a gigantic cast and plenty of quirky acting and dialogue. Much like the radio show, Companion features clever jokes, rousing tunes, and endearing characters. With strong work from Lindsay Lohan, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Tommy Lee Jones, it's a worthy swan song from one of the cinema's best.
Theatrical Release:05-01-2007
Synopsis: Director Robert Altman and writer Garrison Keillor join forces with an all-star cast to create a comic backstage fable, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, about a fictitious radio variety show that has... [More]
Starring: Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor
Director: Robert Altman
Those who have the sense to seek out this film will find themselves delightfully transported as Altman and screenwriter-star Garrison Keillor tackle issues of time, mortality and family while offering up great dollops of homespun entertainment.
The movie is not just enormously entertaining, it is deeply moving, both in the way it celebrates storytelling and storytellers -- and in the unembarrassed way its creators and performers remind us how much we need them.
If A Prairie Home Companion is director Robert Altman's swan song, it's a tune with plenty of sweet, rootsy grace notes.
It's a suitable companion piece to past Altman forays into the arts such as Nashville and The Player, though lightweight by comparison.
Even with its feisty, anti-corporate sympathies, this movie adaptation of Garrison Keillor's beloved Midwestern radio drollery is a breezy affair.
The latest gem from iconoclastic director Robert Altman (The Player, Nashville) mirrors much of his greatest work; another wise, observant multicharacter study that saunters rather than speeds from extended scene to extended scene.
Good-humored and enormously entertaining but also sentimental and a little dishonest.
A gentle, graceful movie so preoccupied with death and the end of things that it seems like the work of a man politely preparing his own funeral service -- corny jokes included -- to save his loved ones the trouble.
Set during the final broadcast of a fictional version of Garrison Keillor's real-life radio variety show -- which is still on the air after 25 years -- this backstage fable is particularly suited for auteur director Robert Altman.
Altman and Garrison Keillor have turned Keillor's beloved radio show into the sort of backstage entertainment allegory that brings out the best in the director.
Fans should enjoy A Prairie Home Companion, a movie based on Keillor's satirical radio show, known for its dry Midwestern wit and fake ads for biscuits and duct tape.
A beguiling backstage fable with a dream cast, A Prairie Home Companion offers a hilarious -- and heartfelt -- valentine to radio.
[Altman] gives his performers breathing space, and many - like the always-great Streep and the subtly impressive Lohan - take great advantage of it.
Altman's films almost always give more attention to character details than they do to plot developments, and 'Prairie' is no exception. ...captivating humor and enormously appealing music...
As one who eschews Altman, I am glad that I saw this movie ...It speaks to a part of me that I forget exists, and one that I value in myself, and it's a well-orchestrated bit of filmmaking as well.
Using the classic radio show for his template, Altman helms his most fluid and fun work in years.
...the film is so busy coddling itself in colloquial humor and Keillor's conjured up diatribes that, from one Minnesotan to you, isn't funny in it's own right. The humor depends largely on whether or not you've been a fan of the original show.
You might call A Prairie Home Companion an unlikely Lindsay Lohan movie. You could also call it the best work she's done, the best work she's likely to do, or the best chance she's had to do good work.
Altman's direction and Keillor's writing mesh perfectly in this quirky, yet 'homey and welcoming' film.
An appreciation of artists, albeit a sadder one... perhaps [Altman]'s saying here that the end doesn't have to be bitter -- it can be bittersweet.
June 07, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Lucky "13" Hopes for Full Houses
The stars come marching out to do battle with the pirates for the number one spot this weekend. More...
November 28, 2006:
RTIndie: "Little Miss Sunshine," "Half Nelson" Lead Indie Spirit Award Noms
It's time again to celebrate the best that indie-land has to offer. The Spirit Award nominees are out, with "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Half Nelson" leading... More...
November 21, 2006:
Auteur Robert Altman Passes Away at 81
Robert Altman, the esteemed and venerable director of "M*A*S*H," "Nashville," and "The Player," died Monday from complications due to cancer. He... More...
November 02, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Borat" Best Reviewed Film Of Year: High-Five!; "Flushed Away" Worth A Spin; "Santa Clause 3" Gets Coal
This week at the movies brings us the profound discoveries of a great Kazak journalist ("Borat," starring Sacha Baron Cohen), a battle between Santa and Jack Frost... More...
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