Waiting for Phil

Waiting for Guffman is a 1996 American mockumentary comedy film written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, and directed by Guest. The film's ensemble cast includes Guest, Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, and Parker Posey. While alluding to Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, the story follows a local community production of a stage musical, with original songs written by Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. As with other Guest mockumentary films, most of the dialogue was improvised. Waiting for Guffman premiered at the Boston Film Festival on August 21, 1996 before receiving a wide release by Sony Pictures Classics on January 31, 1997. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $2.9 million against a $4 million budget.