CNS Movie Review: A Prairie Home Companion

A Prairie Home Companion

By Harry Forbes
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Fans of veteran director Robert Altman's classic "Nashville" will find some happy parallels in his latest, "A Prairie Home Companion" (Picturehouse), a fanciful riff on radio raconteur Garrison Keillor's long-running series.

Besides Altman's trademark use of a multicharacter canvas and naturalistic setups, with lots of overlapping dialogue, there's a catalog of country-flavored songs delivered, as they were in the earlier picture, by a cast not necessarily known for its singing prowess, and yet surprisingly convincing in purely vocal terms. To top it off, there's Lily Tomlin, as bright a presence as ever.

Whereas "Nashville" had an epic quality in its tale of the country music scene against a political backdrop, "Prairie" is a more leisurely paced, virtually plotless conceit that features screenwriter Keillor playing himself as he presents his "final" show before the St. Paul, Minn., theater from which he broadcasts is demolished. Besides the radio studio, the only other location is a picturesque retro diner.

The show follows the format of the one heard weekly on public radio, but with fictional top-liners, including the singing Johnson sisters, Yolanda and Rhonda (Meryl Streep and Tomlin), and guitar-strumming warbling cowboys Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly).

All the while, 1940s Raymond Chandler-style sleuth Guy Noir (Kevin Kline), the theater's security guard, tracks the doings of a mysterious femme fatale (Virginia Madsen), who is actually an angel of death. She weaves in and out among the players unseen to all except Noir and her victim -- singer Chuck Akers (L.Q. Jones) -- gently bringing her quarries to God.

Late in the film, a shadowy figure named Axeman (Tommy Lee Jones) makes an appearance to survey the theater for razing.

From the cast of Keillor's actual show, Sue Scott and Tim Russell play the makeup lady and stage manager, and there are several other "Prairie" regulars, Tom Keith and Jearlyn Steele among them.

Fans of Keillor and those of Altman will appreciate the film most. The former will enjoy their weekend favorite on the big screen, and the latter will applaud veteran director Altman's return to form, as he uses his unique storytelling to mourn the passing of a gentler age.

The angel, beatifically embodied by a serene Madsen, seems a peculiar device, though it reinforces the idea of death hanging over the entire enterprise. Kline's bumbling shtick is as accomplished as ever, but a little heavy-handed here without more truly comic material to work with.

Teen idol Lindsay Lohan has a nice change-of-pace role as Yolanda's daughter, Lola -- a morose, bookish loner --who finally cuts loose with the old standard "Frankie and Johnnie."

As noted, the country-styled tunes, some gospel-flavored, are a highlight, and the soundtrack CD will, no doubt, make good listening.

A Keillor fan who accompanied me to the screening said she wished Altman had just filmed one of his regular broadcasts -- but with the same handsome production design -- and ditched the extraneous plot. But then, of course, we'd be deprived of Altman in touchingly elegiac mode, and some terrific work by an all-star cast.

The film contains some brief crude humor, mild irreligiosity, some innuendo and risque song lyrics, and an instance of profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

END

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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