RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Waiting for Guffman
Waiting for Guffman

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Waiting for Guffman (1997)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
91 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:53

Fresh:48

Rotten:5

Average Rating:7.7/10

Consensus: This riotously deadpan mockumentary about aspiring community theater performers never stoops to ridicule oft-ridiculous characters.

Runtime: 84 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This mock documentary, set in the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri, chronicles the attempts of its talent-free residents to put on a show celebrating the burg's 150th anniversary. From the fey... This mock documentary, set in the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri, chronicles the attempts of its talent-free residents to put on a show celebrating the burg's 150th anniversary. From the fey director Corky St. Clair to the Dairy Queen girl, the cast and crew scream incompetence. Furthermore, St. Claire has invited Guffman -- a Broadway producer -- to see the production, with the hopes that they will eventually make it to the Great White Way. Can the local yokels make something out of nothing? [More]

Starring: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, Catherine O'Hara

Starring: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban, Fred Willard, Paul Dooley

Director: Christopher Guest

Director: Christopher Guest
Screenwriter: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Waiting for Guffman

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The songs (co-written by Guest and Tapster Harry Shearer) are suitably ridiculous and the deadpan gags come thick, fast and too numerous to mention, all delivered with knuckle-gnawing subtlety by the C-list cast with A-list style.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/12/08
Neil Jeffries
Neil Jeffries
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The comedy has the slow burn of a richly nuanced and non-judgmental character study.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Frequently funny -- sometimes very funny indeed.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/12/08
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This 1997 comedy may be amusing if you feel a pressing need to feel superior to somebody, but the aim is too broad and scattershot to add up to much beyond an acknowledgment of small-town desperation.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
08/12/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

Raucous, outrageously funny, and filled with many zany scenes.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/25/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

One of the funniest movies ever made, 'Waiting for Guffman' spoofs everything from documentaries and talent shows to local politics and alien abductions.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/10/07
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

A madcap gem.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
02/27/07
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

Trabalhando em um subgênero que praticamente ajudou a crier (o do pseudocumentário), Guest cria mais um filme que diverte por compreender tão bem seu tema e seus personagens.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
12/23/06
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

A sly, gleeful and subtle comedy that pokes fun at American musicals, amateur theatricals, and the culture of celebrity-the universal wish to be famous--set in the small, provincial town of Blaine about to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Full Review Source: Screendaily | comment Comment
09/19/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Screendaily

It's Corky's movie.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ron Wells
Ron Wells
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
10/07/05
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
International Press Academy

No review available.

comment Comment
09/29/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
06/17/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/23/05
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

No review available.

comment Comment
12/21/04
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah)

Guest's satire of small-town America and amateur actors has a sly edge, it's not mean, and Guest never strips his characters of their dignity.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
06/23/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Where This Is Spinal Tap took rock music and the media as its focus - fat, juicy targets just asking to be lampooned - Guest's target here is small-town provincials.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 1 Comment
05/14/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/17/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

It keeps you laughing from beginning to end.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
03/16/04
Apollo Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Everyone will think it's funny; people who've actually done community theatre will laugh themselves into a coma.

comment Comment
02/04/04
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Waiting for Guffman

August 18, 2008: RT Counts Down the Best-Reviewed Theater Movies of all Time!
Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats: the countdown is about to begin. We at RT have raised the curtain on "The Play's the Thing," a list of the 25 best-reviewed films... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • James Cameron Developing Sci-Fi Film for Fox Source: ComingSoon.net
1
  • Peter Jackson Reveals Which LotR Characters Will Return for The Hobbit Source: MTV
1
  • Josh Brolin Rumored for Men in Black 3 Source: Los Angeles Times
0
  • Malkovich and Hathaway Rumored for Spider-Man 4 Source: Movieline
40
  • Avatar Picks Up Golden Globes Buzz Source: HitFix
65
  • Disney's Upcoming Hand-Drawn Movies Revealed Source: Slashfilm
19
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
37
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
10
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
11
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Total Recall: Keith David's Best Movies
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
40
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Waiting for Guffman at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.