A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Garrison Keillor (screenplay)
Garrison Keillor (story) ...

Release Date:

9 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

Radio like you've never seen it before.

Plot:

A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Singing | Theater | Backstage | Radio

Awards:

3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Marylouise Burke	...	Lunch Lady
Woody Harrelson	...	Dusty
L.Q. Jones	...	Chuck Akers
Tommy Lee Jones	...	The Axeman
Garrison Keillor	...	GK
Kevin Kline	...	Guy Noir
Lindsay Lohan	...	Lola Johnson
Virginia Madsen	...	Dangerous Woman
John C. Reilly	...	Lefty
Maya Rudolph	...	Molly
Tim Russell	...	Stage Manager
Sue Scott	...	Makeup Lady
Meryl Streep	...	Yolanda Johnson
Lily Tomlin	...	Rhonda Johnson
Tom Keith	...	Himself - Sound Effects Man

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for risque humor.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #42472) | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-3 | Sweden:Btl | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG | Canada:PG (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Fitzgerald Theater - 10 Exchange Street E., St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Picturehouse Entertainment

Trivia:

Instead of pre-recording their parts in studio sessions, cast members performed live in the theater, singing and playing their own instruments in front of a real audience of whom Robert Altman asked to choose their favorite takes.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Guy Noir sits at his desk, there is an "On Air" sign common to radio and TV stations. It is switched on, that is to say, the light bulb in the "On Air" sign is switched on. In a later scene the radio show is still on the air, but the sign is switched off. Technically, it should still be on, whenever a microphone is open in the studio.

Quotes:

Dusty: Hey, uh... hey, Lefty. What did the elephant say to the naked man?
Lefty: What'd he say?
Dusty: It's cute, but can you really breathe through that thing?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'A Prairie Home Companion' (#13.7)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Tishomingo Blues

Great musical comedy!

I just saw this movie last weekend at the SXSW film festival. I thought it was a wonderfully funny film. I might be a little partial since she is one of my favorites, but Meryl Streep was superb! The rest of the cast-Lohan, Tomlin, Kline, Reilly, Madsen, Harrelson-were all great as well. The movie actually felt like a documentary almost because the dialogue and activity was so real. Kline's character is hilariously out of place and the dialogue between the other actors is a riot. The jokes were great and the whole movie was really funny. The whole theater clapped at the end of the film. This is definitely another Altman great, I just wish he had won a real Oscar and not the honorary one!