Arts & Life, Film & Television

Audiences are rooting for ‘Mascots’

If you’ve ever gone to a sporting event with friends just for the entertainment, you might have gotten just as much amusement from the mascot as you did from the actual game.

Mascots control the crowd with enthusiasm and theatrics. In the Netflix original movie “Mascots,” the characters underneath the costumes take sporting competition to a whole new level. The comedy film is shot as a mockumentary about the lives of several finalists in the the world’s most recognized mascoting competition, the Golden Fluffy Awards.

“Mascots” was released on Oct. 13, both in theatres and on Netflix. The writer and director of the film, Christopher Guest, also wrote for “Saturday Night Live” (1984-95), “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984) and “Waiting for Guffman” (1996). He makes a guest appearance as Corky St. Clair, reprised from his aforementioned ‘96 movie.

The movie features several well-known actors, yet focuses heavily on the lives of characters portrayed by unknown talent like Tom Bennett. This makes the humor more authentic, rather than laughing at actors whose comedic style is more widely familiar. However, the plot overshadows very popular actors, such as Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr. and Jennifer Coolidge by focusing on other subplots.

“Mascots” is shot in a style made popular by Guest’s previous hit “This Is Spinal Tap.” It contains deadpan comedy and wit while touching on controversial issues. The brief backstories about the competitive mascot characters include several social faux pas. The attitudes toward little people, married life, religion and racism are all explored in subplots of this movie. Characters have a conversation about disrespectful terms, shedding light on the public’s ideas of political correctness.

American and British comedic styles are both displayed in the buildup to the competition, introducing characters from the U.S., England and Ireland.

The story follows the relationships between different couples and family members that all have some tie to the world of mascots. Parker Posey stars as a modern dancer enthusiast with an armadillo alter ego who loves techno and glowsticks. Lynch and Begley serve as judges for the event, in which they in are competition with each other for the most decorated and famous retired mascot of their time.

“Mascots” is a slow build-up to the competition, which begins 40 minutes in. The movie uses the long beginning exploring the background of applicants, as well as displaying the committed performers and the unknown competitive nature of the mascot world.  

The competition is entertaining and hilarious. The characters were original and their absurdity could be portrayed casually because of the premise of the movie. A giant bagel playing cards and a food truck burrito being cornered in a urinal are shown in this comedy.

The mixture of British and American comedy is well blended, with a recognizable casts from both nations, such as Chris O’Dowd from “The I.T. Crowd” (2006-16) as well as Fred Willard from “Anchorman” (2004).

Guest creates an original screenplay that has satirical elements not explored in many movies, but it is not a gut-wrenching comedy like his previous films. It is a short, entertaining film with a slow build to some hilarious mascot dancing and acting. The subtle laughs are worth the movie that is the same longevity of watching three episodes of a sitcom on Netflix.  

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