A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

 

A Prairie Home Companion - 2006

Coming up next is 2006's "A Prairie Home Companion", a film that explores the last installment of a long-standing and much-beloved radio show.  We meet all the characters and see what they are like both off and on stage.

The film's cast includes Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Marylouise Burke, and L.Q. Jones.

At the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, a very popular and much-loved radio show is coming to an end.  It's the final night of the show.  However, the audience knows nothing.  Garrison Keillor is the host and keeps the whole thing flowing onstage with witty stories and various commercials for such things as "Jens Jensen Pickled Herring" and "BeBop ReBop Frozen Rhubarb Pie and Frozen Rhubarb Pie Filling".

Show security is provided by private eye Guy Noir, who has a terrific way with words.  All of show's cast and crew love him.

He's fascinated by a mysterious woman who appeared backstage and wanders around unimpeded.  When talking of her to another man, he says, "Her hair was what God had in mind when he said, 'Let there be...hair'".

It turns out that this woman was a former listener of the show.  She is currently deceased and now acts as a sort of "Death Angel" named Asphodel, bringing comfort to the cast and crew of the show.

Among the more famous acts of the show are members of a great singing family, Rhonda and Yolanda Johnson.  The two sisters sing "My Minnesota Home" to rapturous applause from the audience.

After a beloved cast member dies during the show, the Johnson girls take to the stage to sing "Goodbye To My Mama" in memory of their friend.

Garrison Keillor occasionally teams up with Yolanda, as he does here with a song called "Gold Watch And Chain".

Yolanda is very excited to have her daughter, Lola, attending the show.  Lola even gets a chance on stage.  She sings a rendition of "Frankie And Johnny".

Chuck Akers is a sort of bluegrass singer.  His farewell to the show (in more ways than one) is a song called "You've Been A Friend To Me".

We've also got those "Pachelbels of the prairie" and those "Brahms of the bunkhouse", singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty.  Their act/song "Bad Jokes" leaves the audience in stitches.

Other acts with the show include Robin and Linda Williams and gospel-style singer Jearlyn Steele.  Jearlyn does a "Coffee" commercial with Garrison that is pretty funny.

Smells so lovely when you pour it, you will want to drink a quart of coffee.

It's delicious all alone, it's also good with donuts, black coffee.

Coffee stimulates your urges, is served in Lutheran churches.

Keeps the Swedes and the Germans awake through the sermons.

Have a pot of it today, I'm sure you'll say it's awfully good coffee.

During the show, the man who is going to pull the plug on it comes to watch.  He gets more than he bargained for when he gets a visit from Death Angel Asphodel.

At the conclusion of the show, the cast comes together on the stage to sing "Red River Valley" and "In The Sweet By and By" as they bid the audience goodnight.

Some years later, the main cast is sitting in Mickey's Diner in St. Paul discussing the possibility of a road touring of the old radio show.  Everybody is excited at the prospect of getting back together.

Everybody pauses, however, when a familiar face walks into the diner.  They wonder who among them she has come for.

Cast rundown:

   Woody Harrelson.............................Dusty

   Tommy Lee Jones............................Axeman

   Garrison Keillor................................Himself

   Kevin Kline......................................Guy Noir

   Lindsay Lohan.................................Lola Johnson

   Virginia Madsen...............................Asphodel

   John C. Reilly...................................Lefty

   Maya Rudolph..................................Molly

   Meryl Streep...................................Yolanda Johnson

   Lily Tomlin......................................Rhonda Johnson

   Marylouise Burke.............................Evelyn

   L.Q. Jones......................................Chuck Akers

And that's it for A Prairie Home Companion.  This film was included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.  All of the musical segments were recorded live before an audience.  The director then asked the audience to choose their favorite take of each song, which was then included in the film.  Michelle Pfeiffer was originally supposed to play the role of Asphodel, however, she later backed out.  Virginia Madsen's agent mentioned the role to her in passing, figuring that Madsen would pass.  She jumped at the chance as she was a huge fan of the original radio show.

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The River Wild (1994)

The River Wild - 1994

In 1994's "The River Wild", a family whitewater rafting vacation turns deadly when a pair of thieves hijack their trip and force one of them to lead them down a series of extremely dangerous rapids.

The film's cast includes Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, John C. Reilly, Benjamin Bratt, and Stephanie Sawyer.

Gail and Tom Hartman are a married couple who have hit a bit of a rough patch.  And they can't seem to find a way to work through it.  Tom is an architect.  Gail is a teacher and a former river rafting guide.

Gail decides to take their son, Rourke, on a rafting trip as a getaway from their family situation.  She's upset about her marriage and can't see a way to make it work.

When Tom arrives and unexpectedly decides to join them, Gail is thrilled.

They set out with their dog, Maggie, on the rafting adventure of a lifetime.

The scenery is beautiful, and they take it all in as they enjoy a leisurely ride down the river.

Rourke is so excited to go down his first rapids.  Tom isn't nearly as happy.  He gets thrown off the back of the raft, and Gail laughingly helps him back in.

Along the way, they meet three other rafters.  One of them appears injured, but claims it is just a cramp.  They exchange pleasantries and continue on their way.

The Hartmans seems to enjoy their time fishing, camping, and rafting down the river.

One day they meet two of the three stranded rafters.  They claim the other one was their guide and he hiked out after an argument.  Gail agrees to help them navigate down the river.  The guys' names are Wade and Terry.

Strangely, one morning Wade and Terry insist that Rourke accompany them in their boat.  Gail and Tom disagree, but Wade says it'll be fine because Gail will be right there guiding them.

Once they all meet up, Gail and Tom send Rourke walking along the riverbank and break away so they can meet him and escape from Wade and Terry.

Wade catches up with them and puts an end to their escape plans.  The Hartmans realize that Wade and Terry are thieves and that they killed their other partner and are looking for a way to evade capture by heading down the river.  Tom manages to escape one night.  So does the dog Maggie.

Gail and Rourke now have to make their way down the treacherous river with Wade and Terry knowing their very lives are on the line.

Tom is never far behind.  He and Maggie hurry to get ahead of the raft and keep going down the river to find a place to meet it.

The water gets more and more dangerous.  Gail expertly manages it, though she's never ventured this far into the off limits whitewater.

Tom catches up with them and creates a diversion so that Gail can get the gun away from Wade.  When she does, Gail quickly takes control of the situation once more.

Having completed their journey, the family comes together stronger than ever.

Cast rundown:

   Meryl Streep.................................Gail Hartman

   Kevin Bacon..................................Wade

   David Strathairn............................Tom Hartman

   Joseph Mazzello.............................Rourke Hartman

   John C. Reilly.................................Terry

   Benjamin Bratt..............................Ranger Johnny

   Stephanie Sawyer..........................Willa Hartman

And that's it for The River Wild.  The whitewater rafting scenes were filmed in several locations including the Kootenai River in Montana, the Rogue River in Oregon, and the Colorado River.  Meryl Streep did many of her own stunts on the milder parts of the rivers.  An expert professional guide did the much more difficult scenes.

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