When Irving Steinbloom, a folk music patron of the 1960s, dies in New York City, his son Jonathan (Bob Balaban) decides to organize a tribute concert for him at Town Hall. He reconnects with the key musicians and singers that his father liked the best: the New Main Street Singers with their buoyant and cheery songs; a trio called the Folksmen; and Mitch & Mickey, a popular act whose signature ballad, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," contained a treat for the audience every time they sang it. All three acts agree to perform despite the hard work to prepare for the concert.
The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) squabble over which songs to play; Laurie (Jane Lynch) and her husband Terry Bohner (John Michael Higgins) of the New Main Street Singers make sure their New Age colors are coordinated before they perform; and Mickey (Catherine O'Hara) worries that Mitch (Eugene Levy) won't be able to hold things together on the stage given his past mental problems and depression.
Meanwhile, Jonathan meets with his oddball brother and weepy sister as the event draws near. He is especially worried about the lighting and a particularly fierce plant in the lobby of Town Hall. At the same time, a public television executive (Ed Begley, Jr.) frets over the coverage of the event, and the manager (Fred Willard) of the New Main Street Singers comes up with some outrageous ideas on ways to get more publicity for the group.
Director Christopher Guest has a knack for this "mockumentary" genre and this one has some very funny bits in it. Having satirized small-town theatrical groups in Waiting for Guffman and pedigree dog competitions in the hilarious Best in Show, he and co-writer Eugene Levy have a jolly time poking fun at the folk music fads of the 1960s and the nostalgia for the movement's movers and shakers. There are plenty of laughs in this comedy and some clever jibes at folk music lyrics.
Screened at Loews Kips Bay, New York.
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