9

The 2000 "mockumentary" film, Best in Show direced by Christopher Guest and co-written by Eugene Levy follows five separate dogs and their owners to the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show.

The dog breeds that are showcased are as follows:

enter image description here

enter image description here

enter image description here

enter image description here

While "Winky" wins the coveted Best in Show title, three out of the other four dogs impressed the judges enough to win "Best in Class" which qualifies them to compete in the final "Best in Show" with Winky.

Is there a reason why filmmakers chose to use these particular dog breeds when making this film?

Seeing how the film "mocks" actual dog shows, Is there any evidence that Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy chose to showcase these particular breeds based on actual "Best in Show" winners of The Westminster Kennel Club dog show?

Improve this question
1

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
7
+100

A little history may have contributed to one decision. A Norwich Terrier won the 1994 Westminster Dog Show, and a documentary film maker, Leandra Little, followed it all the way.

I believe, however, that the dogs' owners drove the bulk of the casting decisions. The breeds were picked to complement the characters. For instance, Rhapsody in White, was owned by a very wealthy couple. A Standard Poodle seems like the kind of dog they'd own -- elegant, a princess. Likewise, Harlan Pepper, a country man, owns a stereotypical country dog, a bloodhound. What kind of dog would a well-to-do gay couple own? A fancy Shih Tzu, naturally. Weimaraners are a bit high strung and energetic, and much like the Swans capable of inappropriate behavior. From wikipedia:

Weimaraner requires appropriate training to learn how to be calm and control its behavior.

The Flecks, the most down-to-earth competitors, have the most down-to-earth dog in the bunch. If Winky wasn't in the show, it's not clear that anyone would pick out Winky as a show dog.

In short, they fit the director's vision of what kind of dogs the characters would own, and would help drive the story.

Improve this answer
-1

Because these dog breeds are easy to train.

Like on this page you can see which breeds are easy to train and why. click me

or this link

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    Hi - The 1st link that you provided only lists the poodle as highly trainable out of the dog breeds in the question. The 2nd link ranks the poodle high, but the next dog breed on that list from the question is the weimaraner and it ranks #34. Could you please provide more information on why the filmmakers chose these particular dog breeds to showcase? If you believe that it is because they are easily trainable, please provide more information supporting this. Thanks :)
    – steelersquirrel
    Jul 13, 2016 at 12:55
  • @steelershark sorry I am just a Pogrammer thats all i've got
    – Florian Neiss
    Jul 13, 2016 at 14:15

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .