Best In Show - 2000

I love Christopher Guest's mockumentaries.  He is so spot on with people.  His cast is exceptional.  We watched this movie yesterday on Netflix.

We scanned through what was available on cable and it was pretty sad.  There wasn't even any "I guess I'll watch that" type shows.  My husband has been watching some non-stop "Dinner For Schmucks" due to a lack of programming.  But even that wasn't on yesterday afternoon.

So I scanned Netflix.  I almost watched "Battle Royale" to see how it compared to "The Hunger Games" but it was subtitled and I didn't have the energy to read.  As it was I didn't make it through "Best In Show".  But not because it isn't a great movie.

My husband and I quote this movie all the time.  It starts by showing us all the contestants and their owners.





We meet Hamilton and Meg Swan.  They are as high strung as their dog. 

Meg Swan: I didn't ask for your opinion. I asked for a toy that you don't have!





Gerry and Cookie Fleck are loving owners of Winky.  But Cookie was pretty popular before she met Gerry.

Bulge: [interrupting Gerry and Cookie in the studio while they're recording] Cookie?
Cookie Fleck: Yeah?
Bulge:Cookie Guggleman?
Cookie Fleck: Yeah. Do I know you?
Bulge: Does this ring a bell?
[singsongs]
Bulge: "I'm not wearing underwear".
Cookie Fleck: Bulge? Get outta town!



Scott and Stefan are a fun couple who spoil their dogs.

[at the butcher]
Stefan Vanderhoof: Now, Tyrone would like some of those beef kidneys so we'll have a half pound of those.
Scott Donlan: No, not the kidneys, it's the membranes, I don't wanna have to pull those things off.
Stefan Vanderhoof: [rolls eyes] I'll take care of the membranes.
Scott Donlan: [to the butcher] I mean, Randy, you could pull the membrane off.
Stefan Vanderhoof: Will you stop it? So, we'll have a half pound of the kidneys, a half pound of the salmon.
Scott Donlan: And do me a favor, will you? Just get out one of those pepperoni sticks. I just wanna hold it.





Sherry Ann and Christy are the owners and handler of the two time winning standard poodle defending her title.

Christy Cummings: It's interesting, we have kind of a family dynamic going on here which pretty much mirrors what I grew up with: I'm the mommy slash daddy, the taskmaster, the disciplinarian.
Sherri Ann Cabot: Mr. Punishment over here.
Christy Cummings: Oh, but I also reward. And Sherri Ann is responsible for the unconditional love.
Sherri Ann Cabot: And the decorative abilities.
Christy Cummings: The heart and the soul which was what my mom did. That was her role. She was there for the unconditional love... and it worked for my family, you know... until my mom committed suicide in '81





Harlan Pepper is a down home guy venturing into the dog show world for the first time.  This is something we quote regularly. 

Harlan Pepper: I used to be able to name every nut that there was. And it used to drive my mother crazy, because she used to say, "Harlan Pepper, if you don't stop naming nuts," and the joke was that we lived in Pine Nut, and I think that's what put it in my mind at that point. So she would hear me in the other room, and she'd just start yelling. I'd say, "Peanut. Hazelnut. Cashew nut. Macadamia nut." That was the one that would send her into going crazy. She'd say, "Would you stop naming nuts!" And Hubert used to be able to make the sound, he couldn't talk, but he'd go "rrrawr rrawr" and that sounded like Macadamia nut. Pine nut, which is a nut, but it's also the name of a town. Pistachio nut. Red pistachio nut. Natural, all natural white pistachio nut.





Ed Begley Jr. makes an appearance as the hotel manager.




Fred Willard steals every scene he's in.

Buck Laughlin: And to think that in some countries these dogs are eaten.

 

Just because I took a nap through this movie doesn't mean it isn't awesome.  I find something new each and every time I watch it.  And if that isn't enough, the scene containing this quote makes the whole movie worth it.

 

 

 

Scott Donlan: Rhapsody has two mommies.