A Prairie Home Companion stars a lot of
big-name actors, but is the opposite of what is commonly
thought of as a “big movie”. A hypothetical telling of
the last live airing of Garrison Keillor’s famous public
radio show—Keillor wrote and stars in the film
himself—the movie plays to the comforting tune of the
folk-music and small-town charm embraced by its source
material. However, despite its lack of the explosions
and special-effects typical of summer-releases, the film
is more assured and more engrossing than most others
that I have seen this year. Directed by Robert Altman,
A Prairie Home Companion has been seamlessly
constructed; its interchange between mock
live-performances, allegorical symbolism, and casual
dialogue functions like a surreal sort of old-fashioned
lullaby. I’ve never been a regular listener of Keillor’s
radio program, but that never stopped me from feeling,
as I watched the characters, like I was sitting in the
company of a rich variety of old friends.
The main players in the film
are Keillor himself, the Johnson Sisters (Meryl Streep
and Lily Tomlin), Lola Johnson (Lindsay Lohan), cowboys
Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly),
and out-of-work-private-eye security-guard Guy Noir
(Kevin Kline). Virginia Madsen also makes an appearance
as a woman who might be an angel, depending on one’s
interpretation of the role. Director Altman allows his
camera to flow both on and off stage as the live radio
program is conducted at its Minnesota Home, the
Fitzgerald Theatre. One could even make the claim that
A Prairie Home Companion follows the standard
structure of a musical, as it alternates between
performances and conversation. However, I would argue
that its approach should be recognized as being far less
conventional due to the way that Altman crafts several
different stories for the audience, simply by allowing
the members of the ensemble to speak of their
characters’ lives as he floats his focus toward and away
from them. In developing such an incidental style true
to his typical form, Altman has crafted a most
meaningful anti-narrative, commenting principally on the
individual’s definition of time and the way in which it
affects them. A Prairie Home Companion functions
as a fascinating, involving, and flat-out joyous mix of
vignettes revolving around a singular event. I loved
nearly every inch of it.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews (6.22.2006)