The scenario is simple: we follow the owners and handlers of five dogs (a Weimaraner, Norwich terrier, bloodhound, Shih Tzu and standard poodle) headed for the prestigious Mayflower Dog Show in Philadelphia. The cast, which includes Parker Posey, co-writer Eugene Levy (as a man with two left feet), Catherine O’Hara, John Michael Higgins and Guest as a Southern bloodhound owner and aspiring ventriloquist, is uniformly wonderful. But best in show may have to go to Fred Willard as the dog show’s boisterously inappropriate announcer Buck Laughlin. Guest seems to know just how far he can stretch reality without losing the crucial texture of verisimilitude. This is a comedy even cat lovers might adore.
Best in ShowWarner Bros. Opens Sept. 27
