MichaelMckean Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I had completely forgotten about this trailer of brilliance until I caught Unwigged and Unplugged Thursday night -- the excellent acoustic tour that has Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer playing tunes from their days as Spinal Tap and The Folksmen. (Go see it if you have a chance!)

In the middle of the show, they aired the trailer below. Shot by Shearer, it's not like any other trailer, and not at all like This is Spinal Tap. But it does tap into the excellence that would make them wacky comedic icons. Rather than show clips of the film and how they take it up to 11, the trailer features Rob Reiner talking about the film, and how he's still editing. Since he isn't ready to show a clip, he has something else to share -- footage of a Scandanavian Cheese festival. Oh yes, Shearer, McKean, and Guest pop up in parts, and you're sure to recognize the King of Cheese. But do you also recognize the little tyke in the middle? They say it's a young Jake Gyllenhaal.

Not every movie could pull it off, in fact, most couldn't. But for these guys, and this film, it's absolutely perfect. I'm just glad I was too young to catch this trailer when it first aired. I can't imagine waiting twelve years until Waiting for Guffman.

Note: This is the super-long and complete version. There was also a shorter version.

Man, a few hours after I mourn the fact that crappy Leonard Cohen tickets were too rich for my blood, there's word that Spinal Tap is going back on tour -- Unwigged and Unplugged. It might sound unnatural since these are the guys who like to crank it up to 11, but Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer are getting ready to tour as themselves -- just three guys and their guitars.

If it's anything like the clip above, expect a good mixture of Spinal Tap and The Folksman (you know, A Mighty Wind). It makes sense -- there comes a time in life when long hair and rockin' outfits just looks all wrong (sorry, David Lee Roth). Along with the spanky clip above, Collider has posted video of the entire Q&A and the tour schedule for this Unwigged and Unplugged tour.

I'm itching for my chance to see the trio live, but what about you? Are you in for an unplugged and unwigged Spinal Tap?

Wow. You just don't expect to see a movie this awful playing at the Sundance Film Festival (even if a good deal of the film was shot in Utah). Truth be told, I don't expect to see a movie like this anywhere, but man oh man. I always try to think of something positive to say, no matter what the movie is, but this experience has defeated, deflated and depressed me. I'm actually a little irritated about it.

The flick is a very broad comedy called Adventures of Power, because the lead character is named Power. It's a waaaayyyy-too-late Napoleon Dynamite retread that would have been just as witless had it arrived two weeks after that overrated little hit. For the record, I have nothing against writer / director / lead actor Ari Gold; as a matter of fact, this movie was my very first experience with the guy -- despite the fact that he's already appeared in several indies and some award-winning short films. But going only by what I just witnessed in Adventures of Power, Mr. Gold is A) a plainly bland and lifeless director, B) a (gotta say it) pretty damn terrible screenwriter, and C) a lead actor with the screen presence of cottage cheese.