Christopher Guest's informal comedy troupe
January 9, 2024 7:32 PM   Subscribe

Christopher Guest's mockumentaries (Spinal Tap, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind, etc) share many of the same actors - Harry Shearer, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, et al. I was sure I'd heard some sort of collective noun/informal group-name for this bunch, but can't for the life of me find it.

It's not a formal title like Monty Python, more of an informal grouping like... Rat Pack? Except it was nothing like Rat Pack. Anyone have any ideas of what it might have been?

Failing that, the sole purpose of this question is to have some sort of title for grouping the relevant movies under in my collection, so any suitable suggestions for that purpose will also be accepted.
posted by quinndexter to Media & Arts (15 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
A group of actors, a troupe? This particular group? Not exactly sure.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:47 PM on January 9, 2024 [1 favorite]


Don't think I've ever heard a name for Guest's troupe specifically, but a lot of those folks are also from Second City?
posted by equalpants at 7:51 PM on January 9, 2024 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I'm a big big fan of these movies and these actors and I don't ever recall coming across a formalized collective noun for them. But personally I call them The Guests.
posted by phunniemee at 7:52 PM on January 9, 2024 [7 favorites]


Many but not all of them were on SCTV.
posted by lulu68 at 8:28 PM on January 9, 2024 [2 favorites]


A lot were also connected to the National Lampoon.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:32 PM on January 9, 2024


Best answer: Right at Home with the Guests (suitable suggestion)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:34 PM on January 9, 2024 [1 favorite]


imdb: When creating a movie, Christopher Guest relies on a stable of actors to perform the film. Here is a list of actors who have appeared in 3 or more of Guest's improvisational muckamentaries (sic).

troupe, ensemble, repertory group?
posted by artlung at 8:41 PM on January 9, 2024


Best answer: Tufnel's Eleven
posted by jozxyqk at 9:17 PM on January 9, 2024 [20 favorites]


Bob Balaban refers to his fellow actors as "Guestian players" in this article. No one else uses a collective term, to be clear.
posted by O9scar at 2:27 AM on January 10, 2024 [4 favorites]


Those-to-whom-I-genuflect
posted by umbú at 5:15 AM on January 10, 2024 [1 favorite]


You’ll often come across “Christopher Guest regular” or “regulars” to refer to one or more of them.
posted by staggernation at 6:19 AM on January 10, 2024


Best answer: “Guest Stars” is RIGHT THERE and I'm adopting it for this purpose and I don't care what anyone else says.
posted by D.Billy at 8:09 AM on January 10, 2024 [11 favorites]


Best answer: Riffing on D.Billy's suggestion - "Guest's Stars", if you wanted to get really specific about the link to Christopher Guest.
posted by EvaDestruction at 10:08 AM on January 10, 2024 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The Guest Collective
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 4:48 PM on January 10, 2024


Response by poster: Thanks for the input, gang. I suspect this might have been one individuals's idiosyncratic term from some low-traffic source that I'll never find again. Some good ideas here though, thanks.
posted by quinndexter at 6:22 PM on January 11, 2024


« Older Petfree dating in my 30s   |   Heart failure management in elderly Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.