A Prairie Home Companion

By Brandi M. Seals

Before I wrote this movie review, I decided to do a little research about how other people felt about the movie. The consensus seems to be you either love it or hate. I fall into the latter category. I tried to like A Prairie Home Companion but I found myself bored and uninterested in the film. I almost turned the movie off half way through when it became evident that there really was no storyline, but I manage to hang in there until the end. I would like to say that my patience was rewarded but that would be a lie. From beginning to end, I completely missed the point of this movie or it never had one to begin with. I am not sure.

I never listened to the Garrison Keillor's radio show that the film was based upon. I imagine if I had, I would have a better appreciation of A Prairie Home Companion. As it stands, I found the movie to be pointless with absolutely no plot whatsoever. There were entertain parts as characters joked and reminisced but the movie came across more as a typical get together. Complete with people talking over one another, restating the same thing over and over again. If you have ever spent time with an old married couple, you will know what I am talking about.

A Prairie Home Companion is the story of a radio show that has outlived all others. In a day and age where movies and television shows remain, this radio show has maintained a steady, although small, audience. The radio show is broadcasted from the Fitzgerald Theater in front of a live audience. The movie gives viewers a look into the last performance as the show gets canned by the new radio owner.

There is really nothing to exciting about the piece. It really is just like being backstage during a final performance. Very little is different. There is no strong storyline to draw viewers in. It is merely a glimpse into someone's world. However, that feeling is interrupted by one character, the mysterious woman in the white trench coat (Virginia Madsen). She is an angel that comes to the set on the last night as Chuck Akles (one of the performers) dies in his dressing room.

The angel wanders around the set and converses with several of the performers as if it is normal to be there. She talks about how she died while listening to the show. She lost control of her car during a hilarious story and died. No one seems at all shocked or alarmed. It as if she is a normal person there. This part of the storyline (what little storyline there is) does not seem to fit. To me it just seemed to come out of left field and it really had no place in this film. The only thing that made her presence worth while is she directed the new radio owner to take a short cut back to the airport. Along that route he dies. However, that did not stop the show from being canceled.

Garrison Keillor plays the lead character, GK. He is the main announcer for the show and often sings songs. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep play the Johnson Sisters, a singing duo from Wisconsin. Meryl's character has a suicide-obsessed daughter played by Lindsay Lohan. Some people love Lohan's performance, but since she was barely on screen and was only a peripheral character, I am shocked people even noticed her at all.

My favorite was the cowboy duo of Dusty and Lefty. They were played by Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly respectively. They preformed humorous little ditties and peppered the show with really bad jokes. Kevin Kline also appears in the movie as a security guard. It is from his perspective that the story is told.

One thing I really did like was the wit and banter used through out the movie. The dialog was simple, almost monotonous but every once in awhile a truly silly remark would catch me off guard. I like the thought of this sort of simple humor; I just wish there had been some sort of point to the movie. I just as easily could have sat in a public area and watched people go by. I hear there are a lot of inside jokes, even tributes to the original characters from which the movie is based. Perhaps if I had been privy to this, I would have liked the film more.