A Prairie Home Companion (**)

Director Robert Altman’s last movie sets Garrison Keillor’s long-running public radio program in an alternate universe in which it’s the fragile property of one station called WLT. Someone has purchased the St. Paul auditorium in which the show is performed, and there is one last show to perform before it is to be torn down. The real show features skits and stories in addition to old-timey music, but for whatever reason Keillor (who co-wrote the script) and Altman have made the fictional version a musical revue, though one still sponsored by the fictional likes of Powdermilk Biscuits. So, no monologues, no listener letters, no wry tales of Lake Wobegon. Detective Guy Noir does appear, not as a character in the radio show, but as the show’s security chief (Kevin Kline).

The drama, such as it is, comes from the performers backstage. Meryl Streep is the beatific half of a sister act (Lilly Tomlin is the crankier half), with Lindsay Lohan as her daughter, who writes songs and poetry about suicide. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly appear as Dusty and Lefty, a duo favoring comical songs such as the clever, Keillor-penned “Bad Jokes.” There is also a mystery woman (Virginia Madsen) who lurks about with an unclear purpose. Her character fits in with Guy Noir, but otherwise doesn’t make much sense. Altman goes back and forth between the show and the scene backstage, sometimes cutting into the on-stage performances in favor of rehearsals or impromptu harmonizing going on concurrently. This is is anything but an ego trip, as “GK” is more or less a supporting character in his own movie. The biggest drama is about whether the show’s demise will be mentioned on the air, but there are few plot points of note. Altman is more or less trying to capture the feel of this semi-fictional family. I wouldn’t imagine this will hold much interest to people who aren’t already fans of Keillor’s work, and even then, the emphasis on the gentle sounds of pre-electric country and folk music may disappoint those who prefer the skits and stories. Besides the comic segments (including one showcasing the sound-effects man), Lohan provides the most uptempo moment with a spirited version of a song of which I won’t mention the title, lest I give away what is one of the few bits of suspense in a work I found kind of dull.

IMDB link

reviewed 9/30/07