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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Best in Show
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 31 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by:
Christopher Guest
Eugene Levy
Directed by: Christopher Guest
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 27, 2000
DVD: May 15, 2001
Running Time: 90 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for language and sex-related material.
Starring Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Eugene Levy, Jim Piddock, Catherine O'Hara, and Fred Willard
Centered at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, the film follows several bizarre dog owners and their sometimes neurotic pets.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: A Mighty Wind For Your Consideration This Is Spinal Tap Waiting for Guffman
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
No one does this genre better than actor-writer-director Christopher Guest.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Waggish fun like this is too good to miss.
Variety Eddie Cockrell
A barkingly funny new "mockumentary" that does for those canine pageants what the helmer's 1996 "Waiting for Guffman" did for smalltown theatrics.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
This comic jigsaw puzzle is crammed with deliriously funny little bits.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
Best in Show has an uproarious wild card in Fred Willard, who plays a hack commentator convinced that he's the most amusing fellow on television
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
It's as smart, quiveringly alert and fleet of foot as a purebred pointer on the scent of fresh game.
TNT RoughCut Andy Klein
I found myself roaring at the grotesque way some of the characters talk to their pets, pausing only briefly when I realized that I do precisely the same thing.
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
If this new film doesn't quite go to 11, it's a healthy 8½.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
I was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my cheeks.
USA Today Mike Clark
This giggle does for dog shows what Rob Reiner's "This Is Spinal Tap" (in which Guest plays Nigel Tufnel) did for heavy metal.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
You will be surprised by the film's poignancy when the winner is announced. You may even get choked up. You will care that much.
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Has both bark and bite. Its low-key but sharp and amusing sense of humor is a nice fit with the frenetic world of competitive dog shows.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
In general, the dogs-as-mirrors theme--the crazy things people do with and in relation to their pets--is what keeps this going, and the laughs are sporadic but genuine.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Stephen Miller
Blue-ribbon acting from both the four- and two-legged performers.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Guest revels in the eccentricities of dog lovers everywhere, but there's kindness at his core. He's a mensch among mutts.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf
While the movie is frequently sharp and funny and weirdly relatable, the material feels too much like reality.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
It's got enough hilarious moments that, all in all, the film's bite is as toothsome as its bark.
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Reaches the highest comic heights when the show itself starts.
San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
In terms of dramatic tension, Best in Show is more compelling than a lot of formulaic sports movies.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Walter Addiego
Gets blue-ribbon results from its thoroughbred cast of improvisational comics.
Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
A droll piece of deadpan played with mostly unerring pitch by a talented cast.
LA Weekly Manohla Dargis
Guest begins -- but doesn't end -- with caricatures, then peels away at our preconceptions until we see the heart and soul beneath.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
Just isn't as fresh, focused or uniformly funny as "Waiting for Guffman."
Read Full Review >Film.com Robert Horton
Tight and quick-moving, the film scores its points and gets on with it.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
You giggle every so often, but you never give yourself over to the characters.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
He's (Willard) a one-man storm of escalating inanity, and he's hilarious.
Miami Herald Sara Wildberger
Doggone funny.
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
For sheer laughs, Willard and Piddock take the trophy.
Village Voice Mark Holcomb
Best in Show succeeds only insofar as you're willing to laugh at a bunch of sad freaks.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 31 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Katherine gave it an8:
Yes I gave it an 8. While there were parts that made me laugh alot, I just could not really get into it. It's a great movie though.
Lucy K gave it a10:
This 'mockumentary' does an exellent job of what it sets out to do: make people laugh, and make those same people want to attend a dog show.
Eliot gave it a10:
Best. Movie. Ever.
Michael M. gave it a 10:
Once again Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy bring us a hit comedy that surprisingly surpasses the marvelous independent feature 'Waiting For Guffman'. This film is not only the best mockumentary ever made, but most likely the best comedy ever made, from two very important aspects = 1) It makes you laugh repeatedly & 2) It has a wonderful idea that no film writer besides Guest and Levy has yet to explore as a comedy. They both do a wonderful job writing the screenplay, and Guest does an excellent job directing. The acting is pure excellence with the comedy talents of such actors as Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Fred Willard, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch. This is such an excellent film that cannot be praised enough. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a hilarious and well made film about pretentious dog owners and their dogs. (2/21/03)
Pat C. gave it a 7:
It's an inside joke. Really helps if you know someone who's obsessed with animals. (Those of you who are will take it as seriously as Shakespearian tragedy.) Unintentionally the most authentic of the mockumentaries.
Flambodian Wikastaka gave it a 10:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! A funy, fresh and great movie.
And here we have a Mulroneycakehound. Note how glossy the coat is. gave it a 9:
The genius of this film is the details. Those people who gave it red (or even yellow) scores must have the attention span of a goldfish. Which is dead. And was particularly stupid when it was alive. Most of the jokes grow from the dialogue so naturally that you won't notice they're there unless you look (Except for the Announcer Guy and his wonderfully stoical British sidekick, who are hillarious on as many levels as you like). The thing is, when we get to the prize-giving, you - alright, I - actually CARED who was going to win, so well fleshed-out were the characters. Even with everything Ebert says in the first paragraph of his review in mind, I still like a lot of the sods. Cuh. What a great movie.
