Best in Show: A

Anyone who has seen "The Office" has been privy to the sort of manic, squirming glee that comes from watching a "real" person do something surreal. Apparently writer-director-actor Christopher Guest traveled to the future and saw a few ep's of "The Office"...or so it would appear from this outrageously vicious mockumentary. Dogs are like their owners, that is nothing new, but the thought that maybe owners are like their dogs? That is revolutionary. Chrionicling the journey of a half-dozen hopefuls to the annual Mayflower Dog Show, Guest manages to expose so much between the lines. Take for instance one couple who treat their dog like their child: they cater to its every whim and even make up new ones when the marital tension allows. The thought that humans would use materialistic objects to vent is exactly the kind of insight one would expect from a masterfully subversive comedy and "Best In Show" delivers. Though lean on laughs (at least until the second half of the movie) the movie is bursting with idiosyncratic egos and pure id. There is enough personality in this one film to fill a dozen romantic comedies. One shouldn't be suprised that the zombie-obsessive personalities of Parker Posey and Jennifer Collige, plus several hilarious cast members, could come together in such delicious ways but there it is. Much like "The Office", this mockumentary doesn't try and condescend to its audience. It shows off the oddballs who populate it as eagerly as a kid at Christmas time and the characters are more than willing to be shown around just like their kanine fetishes. Coincidence or irony? With Christopher Guest and crew they are one and the same.