A Mighty Wind (2003)

A Mighty Wind is a testament and cutting response to the brightest promise of the folk music scene of the 1960s; namely, that love is real and can be found through shared experiences, which in this case is the act of singing and listening to wonderful harmonies. There are many characters in the film but A Mighty Wind really belongs to Mitch and Mickey (played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara respectively). The two singers were once together then split apart as the weight of fame and love took its toll on their relationship. As they find themselves back together for the big tribute concert to their one-time manager, everyone in the folk scene wonders if the former power couple will be able to recapture the magic of their earlier performances, symbolized by a kiss that they shared every time they sang their signature song, “A Kiss At The End of the Rainbow”. Mitch and Mickey don’t know how to act around each other in the same room anymore, much less share a song that people of their generation looked to for comfort and support.

The tribute concert begins and carries on with a number of hilarious hitches, irritating the performers to no end. Meanwhile, Mitch has wandered off and left Mickey alone before their set. As The Folksmen stall (played by the Spinal Tap trio of Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to hilarious three-part harmony effect), Mitch returns with a rose for Mickey, and they take their place on stage. While the other acts fume about their performances, they can hear the duo begin their opus, and they all wonder if it will end with the famous kiss; they rush out of their respective dressing rooms to stand off-stage and watch in anticipation. The entire movie leads to this moment and Mitch and Mickey don’t disappoint: they share a heart-felt kiss and the crowd goes wild as they play the final chords.

The marvelous second part of this moment is that Mitch and Mickey go their separate ways, which at the moment of watching felt false to me; I wanted to see them together again because the power of their performance had convinced me of their love. I thought this until I realized what Guest was trying to say by having the duo part at the end of the film: Art is a vehicle through which we all arrive at a place of introspection. As a viewer or listener, a film or song can help us reach the catharsis or closure that perhaps we lack in our real lives, and as such, we want a tidy ending that ties all the ribbons together in a satisfying climax. But the people behind the art almost never lead those fairy-tale lives that they sell. With any movement, not just the folk-revival of the 1960s, separating the artist from the art is difficult. I think Guest is trying to say that enjoying the art is still okay, even if the artist doesn’t live up to our own lofty ideals or expectations (values that we ourselves don’t often live up to).

I know this is a lot of thought for such a simple and oft-times silly movie, but the heart at the center of A Mighty Wind is what makes me prefer to the film to the rest of Guest’s other ensemble films.