"If we all wear crowns, we can all be winners!"

Christopher Guest and his usual cast of comic actors is back with For Your Consideration, a movie that by all rights should have been hilarious. Abandoning his usual mockumentary format for a more traditional, albeit still largely improvised, narrative, Guest’s new movie is about the cast and crew of an independent film and the complications that ensue when they get caught up in Oscar fever.

Catherine O’Hara plays Marilyn Hack, a respected workhorse of an actress suddenly confronted with the possibility of recognition and accolades when a movie rumor website says she deserves a nomination. When the film’s publicist (John Michael Higgins) hears about the mention he quickly turns it into a buzz, which soon rubs off on the other cast members, including Harry Shearer and Parker Posey. The movie looks at how this affects them, their work and their relationships and at the silliness of awards season and the movie business in general, poking fun at shallow and mean entertainment reporters, clueless producers, marginalized writers and creatively-challenged studio execs.

As comic fodder goes, that should have been plenty. Somehow, though, For Your Consideration isn’t all that funny. There are some laughs to be had but for the most part the movie falls flat. With a subject matter so ripe for satire, it’s disappointing that the jokes are so lifeless. I was hoping for a few pointed jabs at the jockeying that goes on for nominations but I really feel like Guest missed a lot of opportunities for humor.

"I'm confused. Are we in the movie, or the movie in the movie?"

The biggest problem is that, with the exception of O’Hara’s strong turn, the audience never really gets to know anybody. In Guest’s previous films, each the characters is so sharply drawn that within a few minutes of screen time you have a clear picture of who they are. Here they’re all fuzzy. I don’t think the actors know who they’re playing. And one character in particular is abandoned just when his storyline takes an interesting turn.

I’m not saying Guest should be a one-trick pony, turning in one fake documentary after another. But in this case, it seems to me that would have been the way to go. It would give the characters an excuse to really talk about themselves and the actors an opportunity to let loose a little more. As it stands, For Your Consideration isn’t worth your time. You know, the real awards season is about to gear up. Just stay home and watch E! It’ll probably be at least as amusing.

Gorilla Pants rating: 1 out of 4 bananas