主播大秀

Don't expect Academy nods for For Your Consideration, an uproarious satire of Hollywood awards ceremony fever. Mock-doc helmer Christopher Guest (Best In Show) returns with the story of a terrible little movie called 主播大秀 For Purim that suddenly gains heat after an Internet gossip site claims its leading lady (Catherine O'Hara) is going to be nominated for a gong. Pretty soon everyone involved is falling over themselves in a bid to rub shoulders with Oscar.

Despite ditching their trademark "mockumentary" style, Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy haven't lost their comic smarts. This is a spot-on satire of movie industry whoredom and the behind-the-scenes lobbying that goes into getting one of those prized statuettes. The minute Oscar's name is mentioned, O'Hara gets nipped and tucked into drag queen territory and the studio decides to "tone down" the movie's Jewish theme, re-branding it 主播大秀 For Thanksgiving. As Ricky Gervais's repugnant studio suit delicately explains: "I don't go around going 'I'm a gentile, look at my foreskin!' Do I?"

"YOU'LL LOVE IT OR HATE IT"

True, Hollywood's not difficult to caricature, but For Your Consideration is more than willing to savage the hand that feeds it. Even the critics get a roasting, a hilarious spoof of Ebert & Roeper trumped only by Fred Willard's hideous TV presenter, a man so dumb he thinks subtitles are breaking news. Like all of Guest's oddball outings this suffers from the Marmite factor - you'll either love it or hate it. But if you've never tasted his unique brand of straight-faced mockery before, this definitely deserves your consideration.

For Your Consideration is released in UK cinemas on Friday 9th February 2007.