Best in Show

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

No one does this genre better than actor-writer-director Christopher Guest.

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.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

This comic jigsaw puzzle is crammed with deliriously funny little bits.

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

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.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

I was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my cheeks.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Wickedly funny.

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.

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.

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.

TV Guide Stephen Miller

Blue-ribbon acting from both the four- and two-legged performers.

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.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

While the movie is frequently sharp and funny and weirdly relatable, the material feels too much like reality.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Sublimely ridiculous film.

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.

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.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

When it's funny, Best is hilarious.

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.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Just isn't as fresh, focused or uniformly funny as "Waiting for Guffman."

Washington Post Desson Thomson

More amiable than hysterical.

Film.com Robert Horton

Tight and quick-moving, the film scores its points and gets on with it.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

You giggle every so often, but you never give yourself over to the characters.

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.