Which Guest Is Best?

"A Guest movie is a distinct experience, and while you'll be tempted to describe what he does as a mockumentary, he would not like that at all. He has explained many times that his style is faux documentary, as he is adamant that his aim is never to "mock" but to marvel at how seriously people take themselves. He finds a world that interests him, writes an incredibly detailed outline, and then films 80 hours of actors improvising dialogue in it."

"So the metric I will use to rank the films Guest wrote, directed, and/or starred in is how much they adhere to what we now understand as the Christopher Guest style. A truly Guestian work will have most if not all of the following elements: an exploration of a niche world, a faux-documentary style, improvised dialogue, the ability to put on a show, kindness to its characters, and Fred Willard."

Spinal Tap II's arrival revives interest in a generation unfamiliar with the original band's absurdity. Christopher Guest's films belong to a recognizable Guestiverse built around faux-documentary filmmaking, patient marveling at how seriously people take themselves, and lengthy actor improvisation grounded in meticulously detailed outlines. Guest rejects the term mockumentary and emphasizes detailed outlines followed by hours of improvised performance. Evaluation of his films depends on adherence to hallmarks: exploration of niche worlds, faux-documentary form, improvised dialogue, theatricality, kindness to characters, and recurring collaborators such as Fred Willard. Features can be ranked by their degree of Guestiness.

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