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THE MAKING OF 'BEST IN SHOW'

© Marilyn Koyanagi

Movie goers and dog lovers alike are in for a special treat, not to mention some great entertainment, when Christopher Guest's hilarious new comedy Best In Show hits theatres on September 27th. The first film ever to tackle the intense and sometimes zany world of showing dogs, it pokes good natured fun at the passions of the competitors and promises to have audiences roaring with laughter.

Written by Guest and SCTV alumnist Eugene Levy, the story focuses on five eccentric dog owners as they gear up for the most celebrated doggie event of the year. No folks, this is not Westminster! This is the Mayflower Kennel Club Show, infinitely more prestigious than Westminster and even older!

The film opens with the anxious owners excitedly readying their dogs and themselves for the competition of a lifetime. Guest's comic instints and months of research have resulted in the perfect choice of breeds for these outlandish owners.

What breed but the elegant Standard Poodle, Rhapsody In White, could be more suited to Sherri Ann (Jennifer Coolidge) the young, sensuous but somewhat tacky wife of very wealthy and extremely old Lesley Ward Cabot (Patrick Cranshaw)? With money being no object, the Cabots have hired top professional handler, the talented and competitive Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch), to ensure a third Mayflower victory for Rhapsody.

Owners of the spunky little Norwich Terrier, Winky, are the bubbly Cookie Fleck (Catherine O'Hara) and her soft spoken husband Gerry (Eugene Levy). Like Winkie, the Flecks are unpretentious and thrilled over being part of this glamorous event.

The powerful looking Weimaraner, Beatrice, is owned by image conscious, ambitious yuppy lawyers, Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock). Unfortunately, beneath Beatrice's exterior beats the heart of a neurotic and her intense owners are not helping to ease the pressure.

Proud 'parents' of Miss Agnes, the luxuriously coated Shih Tzu, are hair salon owner Stefan Vanderhoof (Michael McKean) and his life partner, professional handler, Scott Donlan (John Michael Higgins. Their Miss Agnes, much pampered and always beautifully coiffed, is well deserving of an award that so befits her royal heritage.

And lastly, there is Hubert the Bloodhound. He is owned by Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest) a fly-fishing shop owner from North Carolina. Harlan is devoted to Hubert who is not just a great show dog but a real working dog, a man's dog and Harlan's best friend. You can almost picture them back home in Pine Nut, spending their days out in the woods, huntin' and trackin'.

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