Movies - A Mighty Wind

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	Movies - A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert and the three groups that must come together to perform on national television for the first time in years. The film was directed (and co-written) by prolific "mockumentarian" Christopher Guest. The title probably alludes to the folk standards Blowin' in the Wind and Wasn't That A Mighty Storm covered by many singers of the early 60's.

The film was inspired by the 1982 documentary film The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!
about The Weavers 1955 Carnegie Hall concert.

Guest's familiar cast of actors return from This Is Spinal Tap
, Waiting for Guffman
, and Best in Show
for this film—Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Dooley, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Rachael Harris, Don Lake, Jane Lynch, Larry Miller, Jim Piddock, and Parker Posey are just a few of the actors who are returning to do their second, third, or even fourth film with Guest.

One of the songs from the movie, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song, and was performed at the 76th Academy Awards by Levy and O'Hara (in character). The song was written by McKean with his wife, actress Annette O'Toole.

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Plot summary

After the death of an influential folk music producer (Irving Steinbloom), his children organize a reunion concert for the three most successful groups he ever worked with, in order to pay tribute to Irving's life. "The Folksmen", "The New Main Street Singers", and "Mitch & Mickey" all have their own issues with getting prepared for the concert. The New Main Street Singers are mostly new to the genre (being a reincarnation of the original Main Street Singers) and have a manager with a painfully bad sense of humor attempting to organize their antics. The Folksmen see the concert as an opportunity for a comeback, and while they express contempt for folk groups that have compromised the integrity of the genre for commercial success—an issue that comes to a head when a miscommunication about the concert playlist is discovered—they must find ways to engage a new generation of fans and accommodate a band member's unexpected lifestyle shift. Mitch and Mickey haven't spoken since a traumatic break-up decades before—now Mitch is a barely coherent emotional wreck, Mickey has married a model train enthusiast, and neither of them has played music in years. For these three groups to perform successfully on national public television, live, from New York City's Town Hall, will require a miracle of immense proportions.

The Folksmen

The Folksmen are a trio consisting of Mark Shubb (bass vocals and upright bass, played by Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (tenor vocals, guitar, and five-string banjo, played by Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (baritone vocals, guitar, and mandolin, played by Michael McKean). They appear to represent a parody of Peter, Paul and Mary, The Weavers, or The Kingston Trio. According to the film, the Folksmen released six albums on the Folktown Records label: Singin' (featuring "Old Joe's Place"), Pickin' (featuring "Blood on the Coal"), Ramblin' (featuring "Never Did No Wanderin'"), Hitchin' (featuring "Loco Man"), Wishin' (featuring "Barnyard Symphony" and "Skeletons of Quinto"), and Saying Something, which broke with the tradition of using only acoustic instruments and single-word titles without final g's. Their biggest hit, "Old Joe's Place," reached position 17 in the charts. The appearance of The Folksmen in A Mighty Wind was not their first reunion performance. Before A Mighty Wind, The Folksmen appeared on the 3rd November 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by McKean, which saw an earlier reunion of The Folksmen and the performance of "Old Joe's Place". In 2001, the band "reunited" as the opening act for Spinal Tap's "Back from the Dead Tour". The Return of Spın̈al Tap as Spın̈al Tap's opening act for their Royal Albert Hall performance.

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