"Home for Purim" has some delicious moments, but for the most part, this is one of the weaker efforts by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy.
The best part of the movie for me is the farcical parody of "Entertainment Tonight", played by Willard and Jane Lynch. All the superficial aspects of that rotten television show are mocked; including the ridiculous editing and camera angles, the mean-spirited banter, the fake tans, plastic faces, cheesy music and empty-headed hosts. The entire package is gloriously torn apart. Indeed, had the movie just been a mockumentary of one of these types of shows, it might have delivered more punch.
The movie falls flat in my opinion as it reaches the third act. The big punch at the end can be seen a mile away, and then movie kind of fizzles and dies. Indeed when the closing credits roll, it doesn't even feel like a legitimate ending. There are numerous loose ends that are never completed or visited and many characters fall out of the movie entirely, without explanation or resolution.
It seems to me the script needed just a little more polish. If it had gone through or two more revisions, it could have produced a very special movie. Instead the movie has some terrific moments, some laugh-out-loud scenes, but as a whole doesn't really deliver.
Still, I enjoy the cast, and I enjoy the humor and I will look forward to Guest's next offering.
The best part of the movie for me is the farcical parody of "Entertainment Tonight", played by Willard and Jane Lynch. All the superficial aspects of that rotten television show are mocked; including the ridiculous editing and camera angles, the mean-spirited banter, the fake tans, plastic faces, cheesy music and empty-headed hosts. The entire package is gloriously torn apart. Indeed, had the movie just been a mockumentary of one of these types of shows, it might have delivered more punch.
The movie falls flat in my opinion as it reaches the third act. The big punch at the end can be seen a mile away, and then movie kind of fizzles and dies. Indeed when the closing credits roll, it doesn't even feel like a legitimate ending. There are numerous loose ends that are never completed or visited and many characters fall out of the movie entirely, without explanation or resolution.
It seems to me the script needed just a little more polish. If it had gone through or two more revisions, it could have produced a very special movie. Instead the movie has some terrific moments, some laugh-out-loud scenes, but as a whole doesn't really deliver.
Still, I enjoy the cast, and I enjoy the humor and I will look forward to Guest's next offering.