Best in Show

"Excuse me if this off the subject a little bit, but just take a guess at how much I can bench press. Come on, what do you think? Take a guess. 315 pounds, at the top of my game, maxing out at 500!?"
This line essentially summarizes my love for the film Best in Show. It is completely irreverent, often off-color and hilarious in ways that very few films can compare to. This film comes from the wife's side of the collection which is sweet when you consider that that means I married someone capable of loving a great film like this.
Of course this film represents the continued genius of Christopher Guest whose other works include This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind and it the premise of these films that makes them so delightful. For those who are unaware, these films do not follow your standard scripts, instead actors are given character descriptions and direction but the actually dialogue is essentially improvised.
So when making a comedy in which the humor will essentially be improvised you first need to be sure that your setting will provide opportunities for humor. With Best in Show, that setting is a national dog show. We follow the characters through a mocumentary format in which we meet various couples who are presenting dogs at the show. There's everything from a fisherman to an over the top LL Bean couple, to a mis-matched Florida couple. And it all works because the actors involved have impeccable comedic timing.
If your unfamiliar with the film I urge you to give it 2 viewings. I can remember showing it to friends during my college days and some may not get the humor on the first viewing. By the second viewing the humor starts to sink in and the film quickly becomes a movie that you watch again and again catching more jokes each time ... especially if you have no life ... like me.