A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Being from St. Paul, I'm a lifelong fan of Minnesota Public Radio, The Morning Show, A Prairie Home Companion, and Garrison Keillor as well as Robin & Linda Williams. (My ex attended one of the first shows when it was held outdoors in the sculpture garden. We attended shows before Keillor was on the cover of Time magazine, the Fitzgerald Theatre was built, and the rift between Keillor and St. Paul ensued. We first encountered Robin & Linda when they sang and spoke on folk music for a University of Minnesota class in 1983. I've tried never to miss a broadcast in 28 years.) So yes, I loved the movie, though not without a few quibbles, most which can be covered by "It was Garrison's first screenplay," or "Robert Altman must be getting old." My biggest warning is for those who prefer summer blockbusters, postmodern ennui, or Lewis Black-style comedic delivery: Stay away lest your kvetching dampen the experience for the rest of us in the capacity-crowd theatre who are chuckling away. My second warning is for those who abhor sadistic humor (bad jokes that make you wince): Flee! This movie preserves a thoroughly Minnesotan, midwestern, old-timey, folk- and cowboy-music sensibility; it's like a pot of trail beans (don't miss the song or the toots) cooking slowly amidst the fast-paced patter and chatter of producing a live radio variety show. (Keillor seems to have at least ten stories of how he got into radio and he utters a multilayered insult to Texans worthy of Mark Twain.) Meryl Streep carries the show as a chirpy yet conflicted folk-music chanteuse and she sings beautifully. Her sister (Lily Tomlin) antiphonalizes as they slowly spill out their bittersweet stories about loss and sacrifice as the remaining two sisters in a legendary folk-music family. Lindsay Lohan's performance was reedy (strained) in the high register but she belted out the final line like a pro. Kevin Kline dopily plays a clueless detective, Guy Noir; his gumshoe persona serves as a thread to bind the story from start to finish, but his performance is lackluster and the sight gags wear thin. The cowboy duo (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly) are perfect for their parts and full of hoots (and toots). Tommy Lee Jones phones in his performance as does Virginia Madsen. Everyone else in the ensemble cast does a super job with their parts, from the sandwich lady to sound effects man Tom Keith (as himself), who has a superb scene opposite Lily Tomlin. Make no mistake about this movie and the radio show it is based upon: You come for the live music, the repartee, and a spirit and sentiment that cannot be described. (Listening to Keillor's voice is so much more alluring than seeing him.) You leave with memories and emotional fuel, built partly on the values of the past and reincarnated for the present day, to make it another week in the postmodern world. Four stars.