Best In Show MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -2

As the title implies, pets and their owners compete for top honors at a national dog show held in Philadelphia. Gerry and Cookie Fleck (co-writer Eugene Levy and Catherine OHara) from Fern, Florida, are sure their terrier will win, as long as Cookie leads their dog in the winners circle. Thats because Gerry literally has two left feet, which makes walking in a straight line difficult. But the competition is fierce, and nerves are raw among the owners and dogs alike. Yuppie couple Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock), have transferred their neuroses to their Weimaraner, and all three require group psychiatric counseling. Another top contender is the bloodhound owned by Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest, co-writer and director), a bait-and-tackle store owner from North Carolina. The laughs never stop as these quirky, exaggerated characters and their pets play their parts seriously. Pet lovers with a sense of humor will find BEST IN SHOW worthy of a blue ribbon for delivering 90 minutes of fun.

Although the movie is about a dog show, parents should be warned that BEST IN SHOW is not appropriate for children. For example, one scene shows the yuppie couple in a therapy session where the wife describes in explicit detail an unconventional sex act she and her husband practiced. Also, Cookie Flecks past is filled with a wide assortment of lovers who appear unexpectedly, suggestively reminding her of past encounters. A flamboyant homosexual couple is treated comically, and a glamorous, voluptuous blonde, married to a very old man, grabs her female dog-trainer in a passionate embrace. Added to these incidents, one of the show commentators (Fred Willard) makes off-color, tasteless remarks about the pampered pups on display. Despite sexually suggestive comments, no sex is shown and foul language is subdued with only two s-words and several exclamatory profanities. But the worst of this show, the use of homosexual behavior as comedy and an explicit sexual description, indicates bad breeding.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Warner Bros., 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522