Pun Salad

Q: Are you a fan of Garrison Keillor's radio show?

A: I used to like it OK, but it got a little politically tedious.

Q: Where did you see the movie?

A: The Portsmouth (NH) Music Hall, about the only place in the area you can go see smaller-release movies.

Q: Do they validate for the parking garage?

A: No.

Q: What strikes you most about Garrison Keillor's acting style?

A: It was made for radio. He seems to be constantly thinking about something else. If I had to guess, it's: how the hell did I wind up in a Robert Altman movie?

Q: Meryl Streep is in it, right? What did you think about her?

A: Her midwestern accent seems to vanish about halfway through the movie. Other than that, she's great. Does her own singing, and it's not embarrassing.

Q: Any other big stars?

A: Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, Maya Rudolph. They're all pretty good.

Q: So it's not just a filmed version of the radio show?

A: No, although a few other radio show regulars appear, and they're doing the radio show, sort of, in sort of a parallel universe to our own. Tom Keith, the sound guy, gets his scene.

Q: So, was it politically tedious?

A: No, they left that out. Also left out was any reference to Lake Wobegon, no skits, no commercials. Put in: Guy Noir as an actual character, a mysterious woman floating around the theater, and a lot of fictional behind-the-scenes stuff.