A very amusing mockumentary, but I must confess I found Best In Show to be far superior.
Anyway, I was wondering, what is that instrument that Mickey plays?
It’s a zither.
One week after I saw that movie, I saw a special featuring the Smother’s Brothers on PBS. It was almost exactly the same as the show in the movie. It kind of made the movie even funnier.
My main issue with A Mighty Wind is that my husband won’t stop saying “Wha Hahppened?”
Actually, I thought it was an autoharp.
I’m going to assume he’s still alive and applaud you on your restraint.
I thought Best in Show was funnier, but I know more about dog shows than folk music.
I don’t think soooo! 
I think mojave66 is right. I’m pretty sure I remember the piano-like black and white keys at the bottom of Mickey’s instrument.
I’ve been listening to the soundtrack for three days now. It’s so brilliant, the way that most of the songs at first appear to be catchy, toe-tapping if derivative folk songs – and then you listen to the lyrics that are just a little twisted. And you have to love the Folksmen’s cover of the Stones’ “Start Me Up.”
It’s an autoharp- in fact, I think it’s even labeled as such in the film.
It was good, but of the three films, Waiting for Guffman was the best. I think the main problem with the last two films is most of the characters are isolated from each other. They don’t interact. You have some funny scenes with the Folksmen, and you have some funny scenes with the neurotic guy organizing the event, and so forth, but you don’t have scenes with the neurotic guy interacting with the folksmen. Same with Best in Show. All the dog owners, at most, interacted as couples, but seldom interacted with the other dog owners. Guffman, being about a play, required the characters to interact and play off each other to greater effect.
These folks have made four films: This Is Spinal Tap is the best of them.
israfel has it. there is a label on the istrum. that states autoharp.
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808412294&cf=pg&photoid=471393&intl=us
Spinal Tap was a Rob Reiner film that featured some of the same talents (Namely, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean), but was not made by the ensemble that was responsible for the other three films. Reiner has also not been materially involved in any of the post-Tap movies. My understanding is that Guest has stepped into Reiner’s role in the creation of the later films, which are generally viewed as his, whereas Spinal Tap is popularly accredited to Reiner.
Miller I wondered why these last two, tho far funnier than most movies today, were weaker-- you put your finger on it I think. Well done.
rmbnxs I think Miller is saying that although they were the same starring actors in all 4 films – the last 3 Guffman, Best and Mighty - were Directed by Christopher Guest and written by Guest & Eugene Levy.
Spinal Tap was Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Guest and Michael McKean, Reiner and Shearer and pre-dated Guffman by 12 years.
The last 3 movies were made w/i 7 years of each other & are more naturally compared.
I saw most of This Land is Your Land (PBS special with the Smothers Brothers and Judy Collins presenting old folk acts) last night. It was so much like Mighty Wind that it was creepy.
I don’t know the release dates of these. Is life imitating art or vice-versa? Or both?
I like Guffman best as well. I always figured it was because I have a history in regional theater which made some of those jokes hit REALLY hard. Especially the theater director and the music director argument. Classic. Wonderful film. Best mocumentary ever. (Well, best comedic mocumentary. My favorite is probably “Interview with the Assassin” - a flick that didn’t work out to well in the theaters - which is unfortunate because it was extremely creepy and disturbing without ever resorting to magic or monsters. It had the sense of off camera evil and dread, but it was all human. That made it feel real and made it real spooky. The flick is a mocumentary about a man who claims to be the JFK second gunman.)
I think Miller makes a good point. These actors are extremely talented. As I understand it, there is an outline written, but the particulars of the script are all improvised. Improvisation has much better chances when you have many people working off each other. I found “Waiting for Guffman” to be the best, “Best in Show” was funny - but not as funny, and “A Mighty Wind” was overall pretty blah with some notable exceptions (especially the “color religion”)
So what does the reference to “that one thing that none of the other girls wanted to do” suggest to you? I’ve got a couple theories . . .
DaLovin’ Dj
Just to clarify, if you read gobear’s link, an autoharp is a type of zither; zither being a term to describe any instrument with strings stretching across, but not beyond, its resonance chamber.