A Mighty Wind
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: April 16, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
36
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The picture gently caricatures the folk music scene with dozens of delicate brush strokes, creating a picture that's increasingly, gloriously funny -- as in entire lines of dialogue are lost because the audience's laughing so hard. Read full review
100
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Another unforetold career acme: Christopher Guest's seductive and brilliantly modulatory A Mighty Wind, which trains its laser-sight on the decaying legacy of Peter, Paul and Mary-style pop-folk. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A movie that re-creates its object of satire with such pitch-perfect flair that it all but erases the line between derision and love. Read full review
100
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Mr. Guest and Mr. Levy's jokes are sometimes so subtle as to seem imperceptible, until you realize that they are everywhere, from the broadest gestures to the tiniest details of dress and décor. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The triumph of A Mighty Wind is that it makes an audience love the sing-along catchiness of folk and still break up at its banalities. This tiny titan of a movie is a perfect melding of form and content. Read full review
100
Film ThreatKevin Carr
There are no sacred cows in A Mighty Wind. Even beloved public television is skewered by Guest and Co. In a lot of ways, this movie pokes the most fun at the average PBS liberal who refuses to let go of the 1960s. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Achingly funny movie...Guest has cultivated a stock company of players whose work together is so intuitively sharp that it seems to redefine the boundaries of acting. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
The jokes would be funny even if they weren't perfectly timed, but what makes them come across as so poignant is the seriousness with which the director and his co-conspirators deliver their jabs and japes. Read full review
90
SlateDavid Edelstein
Almost to a one, the people Guest casts are virtuosos, and he lets them hit notes they can't hit anywhere else. Read full review
90
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Guest has proven to be this era's master of humanist satire. Read full review
90
SalonStephanie Zacharek
It's a fine-grained picture that goes for the sideways laughs rather than the straight-ahead ones. This is sketch comedy as method acting. Read full review
90
The New YorkerDavid Denby
A new kind of affectionate satire which is all but indistinguishable from an embrace. [5 May 2003, p. 104]
90
TimeRichard Corliss
The sweetest and funniest of Guest's true-life fake-umentaries. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There's an extra dimension here, not present in the other comedies. Not only is the material amusing, it's charmingly engaging. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
More of a warm breeze than a great gust, but its simple, smart pleasures carry the force of a hurricane. Read full review
88
USA TodayMike Clark
Like the first half of "Best in Show," the movie is so deadpan that sometimes you have to pinch yourself to realize how potently satirical it is. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
I've seen A Mighty Wind only twice so far. Maybe it is less fresh than "Guffman," more strained than "Best in Show." Who cares? It's still a gift from comedy heaven. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Quick and charming and irresistible. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
It's more strangely and elementally touching than its predecessors. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The film's heart and soul belong to O'Hara and to Levy, whose folk-music burnout has the shell-shocked expression of someone who's been to hell and never quite made it back. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
I laughed myself silly through most of A Mighty Wind, and was pleasantly surprised when it took a turn toward genuine feeling near the end.
80
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
Freshened immensely by pitch-perfect song parodies, a batch of hilarious faux album covers, nimble improv from the ever-marvelous cast, and a palpable love for the subject matter. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineFrank Lovece
While the unfortunate epilogue strains the naturalism of what's gone on before and leaves a bit of a sour taste, this semi-improvisational comedy otherwise reaches Balzacian brilliance. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Rooney
The gifted repertory company again creates an amusing gallery of incisively observed characters, riffing off each other with enjoyment levels that frequently prove contagious. Read full review
80
EmpireKim Newman
Improv comedy at its best: subtle, hilarious, excruciating and affecting in equal measure. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The parody would be more memorable if it satirized a broader section of the folk-music scene instead of limiting itself to commercialized acts of the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary ilk. But it is as accurate as it is funny. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
When it comes to mockumentary parodies, no one does it better than Christopher Guest. Read full review
75
PremiereGlenn Kenny
It's churlish, especially these days, to try to split the difference between an immortal comedy classic and a mere laugh riot. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The voice that jerks out from Levy's throat suggests Lazarus waking from the dead. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
It mocks folk musicians of the 1960s, who could sometimes be full of hot air. It also acknowledges that protests 40 years ago, often spearheaded by bards and balladeers, blew much-needed fresh air into post-Eisenhower society. Read full review
75
New York PostMegan Lehmann
A hilarious, pitch-perfect comedy. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
There’s much to enjoy, even if the funny bits don’t add up to Spinal Tap greatness. And the titular anthem, performed in a star-studded closing jamboree, has a wickedly funny payoff. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
The tweaking here feels affectionate, yet you soon suspect that these subjects make for awfully easy pickings. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Funnier than his criticism of egos on the rampage is Guest's rare talent for double-edged satire that tweaks one convention by means of another. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Full of redeeming throwaways. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The edge is missing from Guest's usual style. Maybe it's because his targets are, after all, so harmless. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Half-funny mockumentary. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
The songs are actually quite good--if also hideously embarrassing--but these comedians take their roles far too seriously, to their peril and our puzzlement. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The wheezy Mighty Wind can't blow out the candle of this group's first musical mockumentary, 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap." Read full review
50
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
Details like period fashion and album covers are handled flawlessly. It's the big stuff that falls short of the standard set by this troupe. A Mighty Wind is good for an occasional laugh but you're not likely to be blown away. Read full review
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