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Garrison Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan ... see more see more... , John C. Reilly , Woody Harrelson , Virginia Madsen , Maya Rudolph , Tommy Lee Jones , Tim Russell , Susan Scott , L.Q. Jones , Marylouise Burke

Acclaimed filmmaker Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville) brings National Public Radio stalwart Garrison Keillor's long-running radio program to vivid life on the big screen in a intricately woven bac... read more read more...kstage fable centering on the final performance of a fictionalized version of his variety show. As if the result of some strange mass-media fluke, the popular radio program A Prairie Home Companion somehow managed to survive the television age to entertain its audience every Saturday night from the stage of the historic Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN. Week after week, hangdog host Garrison Keillor serves as unflappable emcee to an amiable hodgepodge of radio-friendly acts that include the likes of popular country duo Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin) and singing cowboys the Old Trailhands (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly). This is one show where the under-the-line antics are nearly as entertaining as the program itself, though, and in between the efforts of down-on-his-luck private dick and backstage doorkeeper Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) to discover the true identity of a mysterious blonde (Virginia Madsen) and aspiring teen singer Lola (Lindsay Lohan) to find her true voice before a live audience, there's still plenty of fun and mystery to be had at the old Fitzgerald before the final curtain falls on A Prairie Home Companion. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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49% liked it

82,668 ratings

Critics

81% liked it

189 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Robert Altman

Release Date: June 9, 2006

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DVD Release Date: November 9, 2004

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Stats: 3,043 reviews

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A Prairie Home Companion One of the Movie Posters Dangerous Woman ( Virgina Madsen ) takes Chuck Akers ( L. Q. Jones ) A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion Garrison Keillor A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion A Prairie Home Companion Garrison Keillor A Prairie Home Companion
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Flixster Reviews (3,043)

  • brooklynspo
    December 2, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Found some of it funny and charming but given the talents involved I might have hoped for more. Some of the improvs seemed clumsy and I just didn't buy some of the characters. A little too much music?
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Altman's final film is a touching meditation on death and changing of the times. With a great ensemble, Altman delivers his swan song.
  • cosmo313
    October 13, 2011
    cosmo313
    First off, Garrison Keillor is a national treasure, and as an occassional listener of the real A Prairie Home Companion, I was delighted that they had decided to make a movie centered around it, and that I finally saw it.

    This is a look at the (fictional) last show of the long ... read morerunning radio show (performed on stage in front of live audiences) that is an ode to old timey radio shows, Americana, and folksy, old time music. The show itself is also very much a legit member of the very thing it is an homage to, and I will be really bummed out when it does end for real.

    Even though this is fictionalized, it's a fascinating look at what likely goes on during and behind the scenes of a show like this, made more dramatic by the fact that this scenario positis that the showing being done is the final one. The film is an elegy (on multiple levels) as is a real meditation on the past, death, endings, and questions of the future, though it mostly focuses on the past. It all sounds heavy and somber, but it's actually presented in a very light and bittersweet way, and I think that, as Robert Altman's final film, it was a great way for him to end his lengthy career.

    I have no doubt he knew this was his final film, but I'd like to believe that the film's themes and mood were planned that way from the get go, and that they're made more powerful because he was dying and knew this would be his last hurrah. This makes it a bit more haunting, but death is presented in a rather gentle and calm way, despite the lingering somber undertones.

    In typical Altman style this has naturalistic, improvised, yet stylized feel to it, filled with long takes, a continually moving (no matter how subtle) camera, and of course, a sprawling ensemble cast filled with many notable names from Keillor to Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Lily Tomlin, and Meryl Streep among others. Even Lindsey Lohan shows up and does a decent job. In fact, there's not really a bad performance to be found, and that includes the musical numbers and not just the acting.

    I actually rather like the film's loose plot about the scenario with the show, although I am bummed that there's no "News from Lake Wobegon" segment. I think that might be my only real complaint to be honest. Given that I'm not as well versed in Altman as I'd like (though I'll be watching and reviewing two more of his films within the next few days) I maintain that this is a good film for him to go out on, though I think an Altman diehard might be more qualified to answer that. I have no idea what people who aren't fans or familiar with the show and the type of music it features would think of this movie, but I like it.

    I'd like to think that if you enjoy quaintness, nostalgia, and get a warm fuzzy feeling when you reminisce about small towns, the good old days, and simpler times ,then you miht just get something out of this if you give it a watch.
  • stevenecarrier
    May 1, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    "A Prairie Home Companion" is a downright fabulous movie. If you are a fan of the show, the old fashioned country music or the good old days of radio, you are bound to enjoy the film. The cast works wonders and every actor delivers a fun performance. I love how Robert Altman and ... read moreGarrison Keillor shape their film into something that is both a loving tribute to radio but is also blazingly cinematic, a film that is as much about life as it is death, a film that is is extremely precise in it's execution but couldn't seem more free.

    (Watching "A Prairie Home Companion" all these years later, knowing full well that the death of Robert Altman happened months after it's release, ends up being a prophetic and haunting experience.)
  • jennifxu
    April 28, 2011
    jennifxu
    This seems like an apt final movie for Altman; it encapsulates cheery homegrown country regionalism and melancholic death/destruction at the same time, all the while maintaining that ensemble Altman style.
  • smith44
    June 5, 2010
    smith44
    Classic Alman in his final act. Altman in his element, big ensemble cast, dialogue that all speaks at once, flowing camera movements all quintessential Altman. A Parire Home Companion is a tribute to the past and to the career of one of the greatest directors ever to grace the si... read morelver screen. Heartwarming storytelling, singing and lots of laughs with a stunning vocal duos by Meryl and Lilly will win you over. In the end a melancholy treasure of the past and a film of true depth. To you Mr Altman RIP.
  • MovieGeek13
    March 19, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    A sweet and delicate ode to past times, memories, and moving on even after death.
  • aliceinpunderland
    August 9, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    Good in a Robert Altman kind of way. I was hoping Dangerous Woman would finish off the rest of the cast too. Great singing and acting, especially Streep and Harrelson.
  • puffchunk
    September 24, 2007
    puffchunk
    Uh....stupid to the extreme.
  • fernandorafael
    September 16, 2007
    fernandorafael
    robert altman's last picture, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, tells the story of a radio variety show broadcast live from a theater, where people go to have a good time not knowing it will be the last show... written by Garrison Keillor, who also stars and is the voice of the "real" Pr... read moreairie Home Companion, it's a smart, charming, funny, heartwarming film that, for some reason, made me feel like it was Christmas (??), nice camera work, loved the music, great cast: Maya rudolph (her role could have been a lot better), JOHN C. REILLY (one of my favorite actors), Woody Harrelson (great), Tommy Lee Jones (great, as always, in his brief role), Garrison Keillor (surprise), Virginia Madsen (so-so), Kevin Kline (good), Lindsay Lohan (really good) as well as Lily Tomlin and last, but certainly not least MERYL STREEP (AAWESOME :)

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Critic Reviews

David Edelstein
January 6, 2007
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The movie, redolent of death, is a sort of wake, but a funny-sad one, teeming with music, corny jokes, and an ensemble of gifted performers who appear to be having an obscene amount of fun in one anot... Full Review

Andrew Sarris
June 14, 2006
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

It sparkles with a magic all its own as an engagingly performed piece of Midwestern whimsy and stoicism. Mr. Altman's flair for ensemble spectacle and seamless improvisation in the midst of utter chao... Full Review

Roger Ebert
June 14, 2006
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What a lovely film this is, so gentle and whimsical, so simple and profound. Full Review

Richard Roeper
June 12, 2006
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Either you like that brand of music and humor or you don't. I am not a huge fan. Full Review

Peter Howell
June 9, 2006
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Pass the Powdermilk Biscuits, slice the pie and serve the corn. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
June 9, 2006
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

This is not one of the good Altmans. This isn't even one of the mediocre Altmans. No, the cinema's girl with the curl is back, and this time he's very, very bad. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
June 9, 2006
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

A Prairie Home Companion is about small-beer showbiz professionals who face extinction with a smile on their face, a song in their heart, and a biscuit in their belly.

Roger Moore
June 9, 2006
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

The movie brings us an old-fashioned radio variety show, in all its glory, and an old-fashioned Robert Altman movie, all ensemble-and-improvisation. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
June 9, 2006
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

For the rest of us, this is a woebegone world we not only don't know but don't particularly want to visit. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
June 9, 2006
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Sketchy, rambling, tune-filled -- and, at best, mildly entertaining.

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  • George Clooney turned down the role of Guy Noir due to scheduling conflicts. The role went to Kevin Kline.
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A Prairie Home Companion Trivia

  • In what movie did Kevin Kline played a character called Guy Noir?  Answer »
  • Which Lindsay Lohan movie doesn't have an older version?  Answer »
  • In what 2 movies does Lindsay Lohan play as a girl named Lola?  Answer »
  • In "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" Lindsay Lohan's nickname was Lola, but in a 2006 movie, her name was also Lola. Which movie was this?  Answer »
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