While not the perfect period for the end of Robert Altman’s career, it’s pretty damn good. Fans of the radio show should love it, and fans of Altman (and I’m definitely one of them) will enjoy seeing the master doing what he does best with some of his long time collaborators.

With an A-List cast, the carefree banter and charming show tunes within a niche radio show about to close is entertaining and delightful that harkens to an older time. However, I'm ngl that I was pretty bored. Maybe because the point of the movie is that nothing much was supposed to happen despite an angel of death on the loose. It's a chill watch with an interesting and laid back premise to witness these great actors interact, but besides that, that's kind of it.

I was actually very surprised by this film. Great characters and a lot of fun music make the movie even more enjoyable. While the film has many side-plots, it is easy to keep up with. Performances that stand out particularly are Kline, Streep, Rudolph, Tomlin, Reilly, and Lohan. Kline and Reilly serve as great contrasts of comedic and dramatic actors while Streep and Tomlin’s charm being shown through song and comedy bring out the most laughs. Rudolph, in one of her early roles, show the true potential she had and why she succeeded. For Lohan, as it was her first role in a drama, the movie proves that she is not only great as a comedic actress, but also knows her craft as a dramatic actress in her transition from Disney kid to a leading Hollywood actress. I absolutely recommend this film. This all-star cast and plot make this film very enjoyable.

An original and unique concept. Based on a real show's last night on air but with a fictional story and all star cast thrown in. Had the feel of those old time radio shows with a little weirdness thrown in with the cast of characters and Angel/Ghost. I've always loved this movie and have seen a few times now. Just makes you feel good.

Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan deliver incredible performances!

Robert Altman's final picture attracts based on his connective complex signature with a star-studded ensemble cleverly delivered in all the critical glory now properly grasped, even if not a listener to the titular radio broadcast done faithfully with comedic reverence. (B+)

A masterpiece in which Robert Altman brought together a huge, wonderful cast & great music, amid seeming total chaos & wraps its all up to give us a super movie. A fitting last movie.

This is a marvelous little movie. Homespun, clever, emotional and jam packed with incredible acting and musical performances. People who don't know the classic radio show and Garrisson Keillor won't likely understand, nor take the time to, but he is a Saint Paul Minnesota icon and it is a beautiful tribute to him and the city.

La verdad me sorprende que esta película haya sido bien recibida por la crítica porque en realidad es una película bastante aburrida. Lo único que puedo acreditar es el elenco, la banda sonora y la producción. El resto es simplemente aburrido y muy poco conmovedora. Esta película es sin duda la peor que he visto, bastante mala y aburrida y solo la vería de nuevo por las canciones y los actores. Esta película se basó en un programa de radio famoso en Estados Unidos que la verdad no necesitaba tener una película propia. Es una comedia que no da gracia y al final es una película más del montón que simplemente quedo en el olvido y es mejor así. Mi calificación para esta película es un 4/10.

It's strange to think about, but yes - Lindsay Lohan actually did collaborate with Robert Altman. A Prairie Home Companion was Altman's last film, which makes a lot of the content make sense. For one, it's a star-studded ensemble film, and you can just see this traincar of Hollywood bigshots clamoring for the chance to add a project with a director of Altman's stature to their resumes while the man was still kicking. More prominently (and less cynically), the film is a bit of kind nostalgia that fits an accomplished professional nearing the end of his career, less a swan song for Altman himself than an expression of love for a classic and fading means of entertainment by a man that notoriously detested the commercial side of his own medium, cinema. And finally, there's an unusually serene treatment of death that a simple memorial to radio wouldn't usually have - recognizing the inevitability of the end but enjoying the final moments regardless. He treats death as a beautiful, curious stranger, and life as the accumulation of many happy memories. It's very sweet-natured and the post-mortal element is surprisingly beautiful, but it's an ensemble film that plays out like the radio broadcast it depicts - a lot of short shots of characters that you don't really get to know or appreciate. Even though you're supposed to fall in love with the total experience rather than any one arc, it's still a design that might catch people off guard. The humor is a bit hit-or-miss; Kline was one of the best comedic actors of the '90s but he seems a bit more restrained here. Still a good movie with solid singing to sell the 'broadcast', but it's Altman opting for a gentle goodbye rather than a hearty farewell. (3/5)

Since my teenage years, I have always had a strong affinity for old time radio. To this day, the radio in my truck can often be found tuned in to the Sirius Radio Classics network. It's an amazingly underrated artform that, sadly, for the most part was forced into retirement with the advent of the television. One of the few outliers from the golden-age of radio was a weekly 2-hour variety show called A Prairie Home Companion that aired every Saturday, broadcasting out of Minnesota. It was hosted by Garrison Keillor and it originally ran from 1974 to 1987 (it would be revived in 1992 and air through 2016). The show appealed largely to a mid-western audience and featured a variety of country, bluegrass, and folk music mixed with recurring comedy skits and storytelling. The legendary Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, Nashville, The Player) would produce and direct his final film, A Prairie Home Companion, in 2006. It tells an imaginary tale where we watch the "players" from the radio show go about their regular weekly on-air and off-air shenanigans, aware that the performances they are going to give will most likely be their last. Their long-running weekly show is being cancelled due to a Texas corporate buyout of the theater from whence the show is broadcast. It seems the theater will be turned into a parking lot for better profit. Altman is renown for allowing his actors to improvise and for allowing the chaos of normalcy to be appreciated. This film allows him an immense canvas upon which he can spread his story-telling style, and draw upon an incredibly talented cast to pull it off. 95 of the film's total 105 minutes play out in real time. The viewer is truly immersed in the on-stage and back-stage happenings at the theater for almost the entirety of the film. Altman casts the real-life Prairie Companion host, Garrison Keillor, as GK, host of his movie's version of the same radio show. Keillor is perfection as he calmly navigates keeping a "live" radio show moving forward, while never allowing for dead-air as those around him make mistakes or miss their cues. As he interacts with characters backstage, he conjures up more origins for his start in radio than Heath Ledger had origins for his interpretation of the Joker! Those at home listening to the radio show are treated to the singing Johnson Sisters (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), the off-color cowboys Dusty and Lefty (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly), and singer Chuck Akers (L.Q. Jones) among others. Many of the real-life radio Prairie Companion players are featured as background performers in the movie. One of the many things I loved about this film is that it includes several ambiguous characters who challenge the viewer's imagination within the events that are unfolding. One's mind must open to integrating anachronistic and/or supernatural characters within the confines of storytelling being weaved within real time. The movie is set in 2006, yet relies upon a 1940's style gumshoe (Kevin Kline) to serve as the film's orator. A "dangerous woman" (Virginia Madsen) wanders about the back stages of the theater, interacting with the living, while representing the deceased. These characters challenge conventional perception and force the viewer to engage in the same mind-bending openness that old-time radio used to elicit. Sometimes we don't need everything spelled out. Sometimes a story is best if it can be interpreted in many ways… with none of those ways being right or wrong. The story swirls with the inevitabilities of endings and beginnings. I'm blown away by this film. It's not perfect. It's not even Oscar worthy of being a Best Picture. But it is thought provoking, extremely enjoyable, and art in its purest sense. It speaks. Whether you want to hear what is has to say… well, that's up to you.

You don't have to be a big fan of Garrison Keillor to enjoy A Prairie Home Companion, but it would sure help. Despite coming across as a Keillor infomercial at times, the movie is an enjoyable enough way to kill some time. Filled with whimsy, gentle humor, catchy and kitschy music, and a good dose of sentimentality, Robert Altman's final film stays true to one of Altman's trademark recipes for success – a massive and impressive cast interacting in a relatable and interesting manner. It's the final night of the A Prairie Home Companion live radio broadcast and there are many storylines in play – an angel haunts the halls, a dead cast member rests in the basement, and a pair of sisters reminisce about their inspirational mother, among other things. While it doesn't come close to many of Altman's classics, everyone involved seems to be having fun – and that's not a bad way to end a great career as a director.

Robert Altman's swan song is a good opportunity to study his use of the camera. No matter what you think of his films, you have to recognize his mastery of cinematography. This movie made me nostalgic and grateful for the many years of prairie Home Companion. There are aspects of the film that didn't work for me. I saw no reason to cast Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan, other than to attract audiences. And some of the musical sequences with Streep and Lily Tomlin go on too long. Some have suggested that Garrison Keillor is rather emotionless in his role. But Keillor is Keillor. Kevin Kline is a good choice to play Guy Noir, even though his role is different that that of the radio show. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are hilarious as Dusty and Lefty, although again, their roles as singers are different from those in the radio show. But I can't criticize much about this film. It left me with a warm feeling. And it made me miss both the radio show and the great Altman. We'll never see the likes of either of them again.

I see what they were going for . It just never got to me . I still am a fan of mockumentaries 2.2

I get out of the cinema (only time i do that in my life), EXTREMELY bored.

A great cast have a blast and you may also. If you ever enjoyed the radio show you should have fun.

Somehow, this movie managed to hip and folksy at the same time. I remember being pleasantly surprised by its originality. It wasn't till later that I knew and realized it was an Altman movie, which was really fun because I got to experience the movie without the pretension of knowing it was an Altman movie.

Shadowing the swansong of the titular live broadcast radio variety show, Robert Altman's final film is an achingly darling and melancholic eulogy to an enchanting spell of old-timey merrymaking divertissement.

Weird, warm, worldly, and so very wonderfully Midwestern. From cast to camera, everything here is pitch perfect in its small, humble, human way.

I had no idea what I was getting into with this odd yet cozy little portrayal of an American icon. I expected the dialogue to be smart, the characters to be memorable, the humor to be sharp, & the music to be wonderful, & that was all fulfilled. However, the almost nihilistic existentialism that pervades the surprising fantasy elements threw me for a loop; I can't decide if they were misguided overreaches or acutely genius. Either way, I loved this movie, & I think it will only benefit from multiple viewings.