This movie is not easy to appreciate. I'll accept that. It doesn't have a plot, hence it means there is no twist, no suprises, no happy endings. It doesn't have something obvious for people to pay attention to. This movie is about a radio show that is on its last show, and how each character reacts to it, and it emits a feeling of nostalgia.
A Prairie Home Companion was a radio show a decade or two back and it was an extremely popular show. This movie aims to make us remember the show (if any of us have actually heard it on the radio!), and it does more than that for me. I've never heard of the show, but that doesn't deter me from saying that movie was definitely one of the best I've seen this year.
What this movie does so well is to keep it simple. It doesn't try to over-complicate characters, it just allows the characters to talk about their moments, the things they remember about the show. Yolanda Johnson (played by Meryl Streep) and her sister Rhonda (played by Lily Tomlin), talk about the times they sang together, and about how their 'mama' was their inspiration. The conversation between them makes you feel as if you've lived their life before, and it gives you a very warm feeling in your heart.
To me, the biggest highlight of this movie has to be the performance of Garrison Keillor who plays himself. There's not much acting there, but he's entertaining, witty, charming. He is the host of the show, he personifies the whole show.
The 'Dangerous Woman' (played by Virginia Madsen) in this movie talks to everyone who is involved in the show, and to me, it is a brilliant technique used by Robert Altman to try to get to know how the characters feel about the show being closed down. She then makes a last minute appeal to the person responsible in putting the show to bed, the Axeman (played by Tommy Lee Jones):
Dangerous Woman: When I listened to these people it was like they were my family.
Axeman: But something else happened didn't it?
Dangerous Woman: Yes.
Axeman: I'm that something else.
This movie like I said is not the easiest to appreciate, because it lacks a distinctive plot. It is not easy to describe either, hence this review might be very choppy at parts. But to sum it up, the movie is witty, its charming, its smart. Its all about the show, and at the end of the day, you leave with a warm feeling in your heart, and it just makes you smile.
Oh yes, here's a nice quote, for you all:
Garrison Keillor: We come from people who brought us up to believe that life is a struggle, and if you should feel really happy, be patient: this will pass.
Rating: 4.5/5
Written by Kevin Lau
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