A Prairie Home Companion--the movie

The movie got a good review in the New York Times, so my wife wanted to see it. I had heard, a few times years ago, the radio show of the same name upon which it was based. I liked the comic monologues, the music was OK (though country is not my favorite genre), so I agreed to see it.

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of the radio show, is the screenwriter of and actor in the movie, where he plays "G.K.," the host of a radio show called "A Prairie Home Companion"--which bears some (but only some) resemblance to the real radio show. If you can figure that out, then you'll be able to understand what the movie isn't. What it is, however, is another question.

I hadn't realized Robert Altman was the director. If I had, I would have been a little more prepared for the film's weirdness, its mild surrealism. The movie seems to start out as a tongue-in-cheek spoof, but then you realize there's no real plot. It just sort of wanders through a depiction of the chaotic last broadcast of a radio show before the theatre it uses is torn down and replaced with a parking ramp. Nobody seems to be in charge, people in their own little worlds just do their little thing. A pregnant woman tries to coordinate things, but few pay her much attention. A representative from the corporate headquarters, "the Axeman," arrives to make sure the show is over, but actually does nothing. Oh yes, there's an angel that some people can sometimes see who wanders around, occasionally killing people.

As I said, the radio show in the movie only bears some resemblance to the real thing. Keillor does not do a comic monologue--my favorite part of the actual radio show. The actors do all their own singing--it's fair, but significantly below the actual level.

Altman fans will probably like this movie. Maybe Keillor fans will like this movie. But if you're neither of the above, you should probably give this one a miss.