For 31 years (and counting) Garrison Keillor has brought his homespun, smart-but-not-pretentious variety show, A Prairie Home Companion, to the airwaves every week. The show's endurance in a notoriously fickle entertainment culture is remarkable in and of itself, but it's mind-boggling when you consider that the airwaves are of the radio type, not TV. Now, for the first time, Keillor brings his sensibilities to a screen rather than a dial, in a fictionalized broadcast of the show, also entitled A Prairie Home Companion.

In the movie, A Prairie Home Companion is a regional rather than national production. The radio station on which it airs has been purchased by an indifferent Texas conglomerate which is about to take a wrecking ball to the show's beloved Fitzgerald Theater—and an axe to the show itself. With the exception of opening and closing scenes at a nearby diner, the entire story takes place in the Fitzgerald on the night of the show's last airing.

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin as the gospel-singing Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin as the gospel-singing Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson

Three PHC characters used in regular sketches on the actual radio show are made "real" in the film. Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, Dave, De-Lovely) brings the pulp detective Guy Noir to life as a doorman-cum-investigator who's equal parts Sam Spade, Buster Keaton and Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau. (In a recent interview, Kline said he began to understand Guy Noir once Keillor explained that his character was "completely nuts.") Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly play the bawdy, bickering, brotherly cowboys Dusty and Lefty. And Garrison Keillor himself brings an integral element from the radio show to the movie, playing an announcer named GK who anchors the proceedings in a distinctly "Keillorian," understated fashion. Notably, Keillor holds his own with the film's stellar cast, and has an oddly magnetic presence, the stodgy eye of a show business hurricane.

The movie also features Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin as gospel sirens Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson, the remaining half of a four-sister group who once botched a Laurence Welk audition and never really got the fame due them. Lindsay Lohan is remarkably effective as Yolanda's teen-age daughter Lola, who endures the incessant reminiscing of her mother and aunt by writing suicide poetry in the corner of their dressing room. Tommy Lee Jones appears briefly as the corporate Texas henchman sent to shut the show down, and Virginia Madsen hovers over the proceedings as a mysterious angel of death. Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph plays Molly, the very pregnant and exasperated assistant stage manager who must repeatedly interrupt GK's leisurely, tangential storytelling to get him on mic on time.

Article continues below
Lindsay Lohan is remarkably effective as Yolandas teen-age daughter Lola

Lindsay Lohan is remarkably effective as Yolandas teen-age daughter Lola

There are some plot twists here and there, mostly to do with Guy Noir's investigation of Virginia Madsen's ghostly but attractive presence. The backstage death of an old country crooner (L.Q. Jones as Chuck Akers) causes a bit of a stir. But this is a film less about plot and more about moments, about songs, conversations, glances, and the irritations and affections that animate people and cause them to be repelled by, and attracted to, one another.

The movie's soul is in the music, and there's lots of it. The radio show's regular house band is put to good use, and all of the actors are clearly doing their own singing and playing. (The film's producers have boasted that none of the music was recorded or edited after-the-fact, giving the soundtrack a rare and refreshing, unvarnished spontaneity). Most of the tunes are old gospel and folk songs—with the exception of Dusty and Lefty's raunchy Country and Western ditties and radio show-regular Jearlyn Steele's stellar soul numbers. Streep and Tomlin's Johnson sisters carry most of the musical weight, and the performances are authentic and enthusiastic, even if they lack the spine-tingling charm that elevated soundtracks for films like O Brother Where Art Thou and Cold Mountain.

The fingerprints of famed director Robert Altman (Nashville, Short Cuts, Gosford Park) are all over this film. He keeps the point of view fluid (reportedly through the use of multiple cameras and HD video), so that scenes don't begin and end but flow in and out of each other. His ability to fill every inch of the frame with activity and meaning keeps this show brimming with humanity, and his use of "wild sound" (in which conversations are heard in layers, much as they are in real life) keeps things loose and real. It's easy to attribute the magical chemistry between Streep and Tomlin, and, to a lesser extent, Harrelson and Reilly, to Altman's legendary ability to foster safe, creative environments in which talented actors can improvise, take risks and flourish. It's also easy to credit (or blame) Altman for the leisurely and meandering pace of the mostly plot-less story.

Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly, as Dusty and Lefty, are the source of the film's 'risque humor'

Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly, as Dusty and Lefty, are the source of the film's 'risque humor'

The movie is as belligerently Midwestern as the radio show. ("We come from people who brought us up to believe that life is a struggle," GK intones in an early scene, "and if you should feel really happy, be patient: this will pass.") It is also willfully corny and old-fashioned and somehow hip in its intentional un-hipness, all of which lends the movie much of its charm. There are times, however, when the film's tone seems uneven. I found myself more embarrassed than intrigued or charmed by the hokiness of Madsen's angel, a fault more of the script than the acting. (Perhaps Keillor got the inspiration for a celestial presence from his screenplay co-writer Ken LaZebnik, who was a writer and co-producer for the television series Touched By An Angel.) And, despite the undisputed comic genius of Kevin Kline, I found Guy Noir's scenery chewing an over-the-top distraction against the more understated vibe of the rest of the movie.

Article continues below

The unevenness in tone in A Prairie Home Companion sometimes plays out into larger problems with thematic inconsistencies. There is both great humor and genuine pathos in the film, much to its credit, but there are moments where it is hard to determine whether a particular statement or development is meant to be sarcastic or profound. Depending on the viewer's sensibilities, such ambiguity can be a great strength or weakness; I found it more confusing than engaging. Take, for example, the film's treatment of death. Altman and most of the cast have claimed in interviews that A Prairie Home Companion is essentially a movie about death, whereas Keillor insists that any death in the movie is "comic death" and is not the film's overriding theme. Such differences in thematic intent seem to dilute rather than nuance the film.

I found myself vaguely disappointed in the film's treatment of faith, and I suspect other Christian viewers may be as well. On the surface, this disappointment can be attributed to the absence of any of Keillor's well-loved Lake Wobegon stories or characters, which for many of his fans are the epicenter of his work. Fortunately, Keillor is reportedly saving his Norwegian Lutherans for a future Lake Wobegon movie. But there is a curious schism in this film between all the great gospel lyrics sung and the lives of the characters who sing them. Of course, not every gospel singer is going to live the faith she describes, but no one in A Prairie Home Companion seems to look to a spiritual center for hope, comfort, moral direction or general guidance. The only consistently expressed faith viewpoint is that of the angel, and she's pointedly disconnected from the hustle and bustle of life in the theater.

Fans of Altman's naturalistic style and admirers of Keillor's wit will find plenty to love in A Prairie Home Companion. Those of us who were hoping for a deeper or more expressed spiritual center will be consoled by a bounty of great gospel music and the promise of a future Woebegon film. Meanwhile, there is something undeniably soul-stirring about watching a great cast engage themselves whole-heartedly in an immensely creative process, regardless of whether the Source of all that creativity is acknowledged.

Article continues below

Talk About It

  Discussion starters
  1. Lola begins to blossom in the film when GK tells her a road trip story about accidentally leaving her dad behind at a diner, a "mistake" that led to her parents' meeting and her eventual birth. Can you think of apparent "mistakes" in your past that God has used for good?

  2. Yolanda and Rhonda can sing passionately about a hope found in God, and yet in their personal lives they seem to seek fulfillment in exclusively human relationships. Is there ever a disconnect in your own life between the hope you profess and the things (or people) you use for fulfillment or comfort?

  3. In the movie, the talented cast of A Prairie Home Companion are all about to lose their jobs because of a parent company that is indifferent to the art and community they create. Are there artists in your community—actors, singers, painters, dancers—who may need your support?



The Family Corner

For parents to consider

A Prairie Home Companion is rated PG-13 for "risqué humor," an appropriate caution in light of the funny but definitely raunchy material performed by singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty. An extramarital affair between two elderly cast members (implied but not seen) is a key plot point played mostly for laughs. Jesus' name is occasionally used in vain, which is oddly jarring in contrast with the abundance of gospel lyrics sung throughout the film.


What Other Critics Are Saying
compiled by Jeffrey Overstreet

from Film Forum, 06/15/06
I wonder if anyone will consider Garrison Keillor for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar next year. With his charm, humor, and heart, he somehow manages to steal A Prairie Home Companion from his entire cast of superstars.

And thank goodness he does. No movie star should take any credit away from Keillor for the outstanding work he has done over the years, cultivating his radio show into a national treasure. A Prairie Home Companion has been a dependably entertaining, heartwarming, and amusing radio show since … well, it feels like it's been around since Benjamin Franklin. It's hard to believe nobody managed to bring it to the big screen before, but we can be thankful that the sometimes-masterful Robert Altman (Gosford Park, The Player) and his assistant—Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia)—have brought such spontaneity and grace to the project, translating Keillor's wit and whimsy to the screen almost intact.

Article continues below

I say "almost" because it's rather disorienting to see so many big Hollywood stars in the show. Oh, don't get me wrong, Altman has gathered a cast of spectacular talents—Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, Lily Tomlin, and Tommy Lee Jones are all in the cast. And an up-and-comer you may have heard about … Lindsay Lohan. They're all entertaining and some, especially Streep, contribute truly memorable moments.

But seeing so many familiar big-screen faces in the film takes something away from the home-cooked quality of Keillor's brand of Americana. I found myself wishing the big names were special musical guests like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, or Alison Krauss, who bring down the house when they visit the radio show and who deserve a big screen appearance.

Still, if you're weary of adrenalin-rush cinema and want to sit back enjoy something light, melancholy, and unpredictable—something that feels like it was made by human beings instead of a committee—this may be your best bet all summer long.

"The warmth of the radio broadcast translates to the new film version of A Prairie Home Companion," says Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk). "The storyline is loose, the acting often improvised and the soundtrack cacophonous only when it features the trademark overlapping dialogue of its director, Robert Altman. The film is not a breakthrough for Altman, but—like its radio counterpart—what A Prairie Home Companion lacks in innovation it makes up for in execution."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) writes, "Fans of Keillor and those of Altman will appreciate the film most. The former will enjoy their weekend favorite on the big screen, and the latter will applaud veteran director Altman's return to form, as he uses his unique storytelling to mourn the passing of a gentler age." He agrees that "the country-styled tunes, some gospel-flavored, are a highlight, and the soundtrack CD will, no doubt, make good listening."

Article continues below

Bob Hoose (Catholic News Service) says it's "too bad their film's rambling vignettes climax with Lefty and Dusty's tribute to bad jokes. … A Prairie Home Companion, the movie, certainly isn't going to wreck A Prairie Home Companion, the radio show, no matter how it ends. I just wish Keillor and Co. had stuck to the show's clever commercials, Gospel greats and innocuous tales of Lake Wobegone, and left the rest backstage."

Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin (Cinema in Focus) write, "The genius of director Robert Altman's style is his ability to weave the lives of multiple people in a way that lets you experience them in both their moments of emotional struggle as well as their mundane queries about their daily lives. … Keillor's stories about life in the Midwest are Americana at its finest. These are not people who are role models for saving the world, but they have a homespun reality to them that draws you in and leaves you wishing that life were this charming."

Keillor has charmed mainstream critics as well.

from Film Forum, 06/22/06
Brett McCracken (Relevant) writes, "From the outset we know this film is about endings, and how central to life that theme is—both in an awareness of mortality but also just of the passing of time. Relationships change, culture transforms, priorities shift, life goes on. … Altman's camera passes like a ghostly observer through the halls, back-stages and dressing rooms of the theater, peeping in on various intimate conversations where we only glimpse what must be an incredibly complex web of relationships and history between these people. All of the characters are interesting, though some more than others."

A Prairie Home Companion
Our Rating
3 Stars - Good
Average Rating
 
(not rated yet)ADD YOURSHelp
Mpaa Rating
PG-13 (for risqué humor)
Directed By
Robert Altman
Run Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Cast
Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson
Theatre Release
June 09, 2006 by Picturehouse
Browse All Movie Reviews By: