Official site: http://www.aprairiehomecompanionmovie.com/
IMDB: http://imdb.com/title/tt0420087/
Trailers: http://www.apple.com/trailers/picturehouse/prairiehomecompanion/

Director Robert Altman and writer Garrison Keillor join forces with an all-star cast to create a comic backstage fable, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, about a fictitious radio variety show that has managed to survive in the age of television.

I suppose if you give a shit, you already know what this is about. But look at this cast:
Woody Harrelson .... Dusty
Tommy Lee Jones .... Axeman
Garrison Keillor .... G.K.
Kevin Kline .... Guy Noir
Lindsay Lohan .... Lola Johnson
Virginia Madsen .... Dangerous Woman
John C. Reilly .... Lefty
Maya Rudolph .... Molly
Meryl Streep .... Yolanda Johnson
Lily Tomlin .... Rhonda Johnson

That's a serious cast right there. My only regret is that the cowboys were oringinally going to be played by Tom Waits and Lyle Lovitt. That fell through. Oh well.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Robert Altman, he's directed some of the best American movies ever made, including Short Cuts, The Player, Gosford Park, and MASH. A Prairie Home Companion, the radio show, has been on for over 30 years and people seem to love it. I'm not one of those people. But whatever. I'm psyched about the movie. I'll post my thoughts tonight after I've seen it.

Opening Friday at Galaxy Cinema. Showtimes are 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, and 9:30. Student tickets are $5.50. See it!

p.s. Lindsay Lohan. SINGING. COUNTRY!!!

6/8/2006 11:48:49 AM

having lindsay lohan means i will NEVER see this movie.

6/8/2006 11:51:22 AM

i'm a big big garrison keillor fan

probably've been listening to prarie home companion since the early 90s

6/8/2006 11:54:58 AM

You lost me at

Quote :

"Woody Harrelson"

6/8/2006 12:16:01 PM

I have always been fascinated with the radio show, probably because of the guy's gravely/rough/unique voice. Some of the skits on there are pretty good too.

I will most likely see this movie just out of curiosity.

6/8/2006 12:20:09 PM

If you're in the Charlotte area, WFAE is having a special screening tonight at 7:30 at the Ballantyne Village Theatre for $6.50. It's been a really slow year so far for movies I think, so I'm looking forward to seeing this.

6/8/2006 12:30:02 PM

I hope this movie is great, but i'm sure it won't be as good as Nashville.

6/8/2006 2:18:38 PM

OMF ANNUAL JOKE SHOW

6/8/2006 4:15:28 PM

YO MAMA SO FAT SHE EAT WHEAT THICKS

6/8/2006 4:21:03 PM

Okay, just finished watching it.

I liked it a lot more than I expected I would, which is not to say that I particularly loved it. I really liked the Altman-esque stuff--well, I guess it's not Altman-esque, it's actually Altman--and I liked a lot of the music. I disliked all the Garrison-Keillor-nicity, which wasn't much of a surprise. Meryl Streep can really sing. John C. Riley and Woody Harrelson were great. I think if you're a fan of the show, you'd like it.

6/9/2006 12:48:37 AM

i read the article on it in the Independent, and that's the first time I had heard about it. My mom used to listen to the show any time we were in the car on a Saturday afternoon. It usually played around 4. I may have to convince her to make a mother-daughter day of it the next time i'm home for a little while. i'm sorta suprised about lohan in it, but i won't let that discourage me.

6/9/2006 12:53:29 AM

Oh, one thing else, the thing that most impressed me about the film, is that they used all live-recorded sound for the music. That's really unusual to do for anything, especially something with so many people who aren't really musicians.

6/9/2006 12:54:42 AM

I was right it's not as good as Nashville, but I enjoyed watching it a lot lot more. it's pleasant, swell, neat, peachy & keen.

6/9/2006 1:14:02 AM

You know what it needed? SHELLY DUVALL.

6/9/2006 5:11:13 PM

Well that was downright enjoyable

It's a lot like Nashville in that the plot was kind of an insignificant background for the performances. I could also see a lot of PT Anderson in it (although I guess saying it looks like Anderson is a lot like saying it looks like Altman).

I really liked the way Altman reconciled Keillor's screenplay with his own improvisational style, particularly in the scenes with Streep and Tomlin in the dressing room. There must have been words on a page at some point, but those two actresses took it and made that dialogue unbelievably real.

And spooky is right - if you're a fan of the show, you'll like it. I completely understand disliking Garrison Keillor. I've thought about it, and can't for the life of me figure out what's funny about him (which Virginia Madsen addresses in a pretty funny way in one scene), but I've been listening to that show since the first time I rode in a car with my parents, and when the intro music came on and GK started talking, I got a little choked up.

Very engaging, very funny, recommended

[Edited on June 9, 2006 at 9:52 PM. Reason : .]

6/9/2006 9:51:47 PM

The reaction from the audience was really positive tonight. This one really old guy said he wanted to kick the N&O reviewer's ass for only giving it two stars.

6/9/2006 10:49:06 PM

I've said it once, and I'll say it again:

Old people love folk music, Meryl Streep, and corny jokes.

6/9/2006 10:50:51 PM

I've said it once, and I'll say it again:

Craig D. Lindsey is an assclown

6/9/2006 11:05:22 PM

I used to listen to this on Sundays on WUNC, I think... I always wondered what the story behind it was.

6/10/2006 5:20:06 AM

The story behind it? The story behind it is that it's a radio show.

6/10/2006 9:24:11 AM

I always thought the radio show was retarded. The jokes aren't funny and the voices are weird. You'd have to be a midwesterner to be entertained by that shit. Sad thing is they run it again on Sundays.

6/10/2006 11:22:57 AM

vinylbandit will kick your ass.

6/10/2006 7:32:21 PM

If it't not about Lake wobegon, FUCK IT.

6/10/2006 10:04:07 PM

my grandma forced me to listen to some lake wobegon box set of tapes like 10 years ago

i've hated this guy ever since

6/10/2006 10:11:11 PM

Bwahahah. Was it the Spring/Summer/Winter/Fall box? Because that's what got me hooked on this shit.

AND SO ON AND SO FORTH AND SCOOBY DOOBY DOO

6/10/2006 10:33:40 PM

that's seems about right

6/10/2006 11:50:05 PM

Quote :

"...after this word from the Catchup Advisory Board. "

Who the fuck writes this shit?

Oh, right, this faggot:

6/11/2006 10:35:14 AM

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

HEAR THAT OLD PIANOOOOOOO

ON THE AVENUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

6/11/2006 10:50:45 AM

What do you call a man who circumcises whales?


A FORESKIN DIVER!


BAAAAAD JOKES (Lord, I love 'em)
BAAAAAD JOKES (can't get enough of 'em)

6/11/2006 10:56:39 AM

I've been listening the a prarie home companion for a long time...my dad listens to it all the time and I've grown to like it...my dad and I will probably go see that movie

6/11/2006 12:36:15 PM

One penguin said to another, "You look like you're wearing a tuxedo."

The other penguin said, "How do you know I'm not?"

6/15/2006 12:02:17 PM

I love Garrison Keillor. I love the radio show. Ambivilent about the movie.
But, I love Garrison Keillor.

6/15/2006 12:43:45 PM

I don't know that it's possible to like the show and not like the movie.

6/15/2006 1:51:08 PM

well that's the thing with ambivalence

6/15/2006 2:00:33 PM