As a comedic take on the folk music scene, reunion concerts, one-hit wonder “where are they now” musicians and a few other choice targets, A Mighty Wind works on every level provided you have at least some small interest in the subject matter. Granted, most of the jokes and songs score because they’re so darn well written and delivered by a great cast, but I’ve seen this film with some people who don’t quite get or appreciate all the subtleties of some of the films funnier moments.

Christopher Guest’s great under-appreciated 2003 “mockumentary” features plenty of comic talent on display showing off their singing skills as well as pulling off some great bits that make this one constantly amusing and even laugh out loud hilarious at times…

One thing you need to know right off the bat is despite a cast full of This Is Spinal Tap members (plus a few other Guest films), what’s here isn’t as intentionally edgy, which makes sense given the lower key vibe folk music is supposed to have. That said, there’s a bit of mild drama in the rivalry between the Folksmen (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean) and The New Main Street Singers (Paul Dooley, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey and a bunch of others) as well as some tension between Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara), a duo that had a hit and were romantically involved for seven LPs until a traumatic breakup. The bands are brought together for a one time live gig after a famed folk impresario passes away and his now grown children decide to send him off with a tribute to end all tributes.

Levy steals the picture as Mitch each time he’s onscreen thanks to his playing him as a near-total burnout with a wide-eyed stare and slurred speech pattern that indicates some major drug use back in the day. O’Hara’s Mickey is convinced he’s well off the deep end, but agrees to the reunion, signing Mitch up without his consent. While there’s no real “tension” between them, the film plays off their old relationship by showing Mickey hoping Mitch doesn’t get the wrong idea and Mitch as someone who’s not as clueless as he sounds when you can make sense of what he’s saying. It’s also funny to watch Mitch try to write in a hotel room with his neighbors next door having noisy sex or interact with the real world in one sequence late in the film that’s priceless.

The rest of the cast is also great, but Fred Willard’s spiky-haired Mike LaFontaine (who deserves a film of hos own one day soon) nearly steals the picture out from underneath everyone with a spectacular bit about the old TV show he starred in for less than a season. The first time I saw this film was with my younger brother (who introduced it to me via a rental) and we were both doubled over from laughing at LaFontaine’s corny one liners and other choice info from his acting and other bad career moves. All the other actors get in some fine moments (Jennifer Coolidge’s character humming with her mouth open is another funny moment, as are all of Bob Balaban’s scenes as a too-picky but too dumb worry wart relative of the deceased) and the songs as noted, are all great stuff.

The film’s only weak spot is the final concert because it’s too short and we don’t get a sense that all the build up and carting out of scenery and such was worth a mere handful of tunes. Granted, a full-on concert in a 90 minute film means you get a LOT less actual story. Some cutting in of scenes that show a passage of more time would have helped make this sequence seem a bit more realistic. Still, it’s a small complaint in a really well made and amusing little gem worth tracking down. Everything is wrapped up neatly at the end in a series of post concert vignettes that show how each band is dealing with the new found recognition they’ve gotten. No spoilers here other than you’ll get a few fine chuckles going but good…