Best Video Gives Parker Posey Her Flowers

Meg Swan is all sharp angles and biting retorts as she attempts to maneuver her dog into becoming a prizewinner in the film Best in Show, the first in Best Video’s January film series celebrating the work of actor Parker Posey, who plays Swan. Though definitively part of Christopher Guest’s stellar ensemble that finds the laughter in between — and, more often than not, within — the discomfort, Posey’s character stands out, as she has done in nearly every film role she has committed to since she first arrived on the movie scene in the 1990s.

Most recently seen as Elaine, the love interest of the title character in Ari Aster’s hilarious and horrifying ode to anxiety Beau is Afraid, Posey has had so many memorable roles it is almost impossible to keep track of them without an online search (thank you, Letterboxd!). However, it is not impossible to mention her name and have someone respond in glee with their own most favorite performance of hers. 

Dubbed ​“Queen of the Indies” back in the early ​’90s after she appeared in a string of independent films — mostly notably a star turn as the lead in Party Girl, which will be shown at Best Video next Tuesday — Posey has since then appeared in a large number of larger studio films and a number of television series. But why Posey for a retrospective right now? Best Video’s Rob Harmon had the answer to that.

“If anybody was the ​’90s It Girl of cinema, it was her,” said Harmon, whose idea it was to have the retrospective. ​“She epitomized the exciting spirit of ​’90s filmmaking.”

Harmon recalled seeing the VHS cover of Party Girl years before seeing the film. Once he saw it, he noted that Posey ​“rode the wave” of independent filmmaking with her ​“bright and experimental try-anything attitude.” But it’s also not just about the ​’90s. 

“She’s still doing well and I’m happy for her,” he added, also noting that he feels like it’s a ​“good idea” to highlight people like her who have done a lot of ensemble work (most notably in multiple Christopher Guest films, but also in such films as Daytrippers and Clockwatchers).

“Just the mention of her name elicits feelings and emotions in filmgoers,” he added. ​“She’s just so cool.”

Harmon added that Posey also represents the ​“zeitgeist” of that era of independent filmmaking, complete with its ​“big boxy VHS covers.”

“For me, it’s nothing but good memories,” he said with a smile.

Some of the store’s patrons must also have had similar memories, as Best Video’s Teo Hernandez spoke of how they had used voting on social media to choose which of Posey’s films to show, choosing eight and then posting polls on Instagram so patrons ​“can have a say in what we’re doing.”

With any of her films, ​“it’s kind of hard to go wrong,” said Hernandez.

“We could easily do a couple months of her films,” added Harmon.

On this night, when the weather forecasters were yelling at everyone to stay home due to the rain and wind, Best Video found every seat filled for Best in Show, the Christopher Guest-directed story written by Guest and Eugene Levy, though for these films the two famously only wrote the barest of outlines and let the actors improvise the bulk of their dialogue. 

The film follows five very different sets of dog owners on their journey to and through competition in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia, in which one is chosen the grand champion, a.k.a. best in show. In Guest’s hilarious mockumentary style, we get to know all of the characters in all of their weird and wonderful glory through interviews and glimpses behind the scenes, as well as while they are dachshund-deep in competition. 

The players are all veteran participants of Guest movies, including Guest himself, Levy, and Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, and so many more, including the late Fred Willard, whose character, announcer Buck Laughlin, garnered some of the loudest and longest laughs of the night. It is a testament to Guest, Levy, and this company of actors that a movie with mostly improvised dialogue is so quotable, such as Willard’s ​“he went after her like she was made out of ham.”

Parker gets her share of the laughs too — some of the biggest as well — as she and her husband (played by Michael Hitchcock) show their endearing and agitated sides as they portray a couple clearly in love but also clearly at odds with each other while trying to keep their dog Beatrice calm, even when their agitation is the only thing Beatrice is receiving. As more and more cringeworthy moments occur, more and more laughs ensue. This reporter will admit that she has seen this film probably at least 20 times and has never laughed as hard as she did with the crowd at Best Video (there were actual tears, people). Nothing beats seeing a favorite film with a group of people. 

I won’t spoil the film for you and tell you which dog won, but I will tell you that even though it seemed as if near everyone in the room had seen the film before, you could still hear a pin drop right before the winner was announced. That’s the beauty of a great film that makes you feel like you’re seeing it for the first time every time. And the beauty of a great actor, such as Parker Posey, is to be a part of so many of them.

The Parker Posey retrospective continues the next three Tuesdays in January at 7 p.m. at Best Video, with Party Girl on Jan. 16, Dazed and Confused on Jan. 23, and Josie and the Pussycats on Jan. 30. Admission is free for members and $7 for non-members. Please see Best Video’s website for more information.