YMMV / A Mighty Wind

• Award Snub:
  • Eugene Levy's performance as Mitch carries the largest plot of the film, and is wholly against type. He was nominated for nothing.
  • "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" received Best Song nominations but got trampled by the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King juggernaut.
• Awesome Music: All of the songs were written just for the movie. And all of them sound like legit folk songs.
• Diagnosed by the Audience: Mitch is an odd fellow. Whether he's a little ditzy, just quirky, suffering the aftereffects of the trauma of his and Mickey's breakup (see also Creator Breakdown), or somehow disordered is left pretty ambiguous, though his social difficulties, general incomprehension of the world around him, awkward speech patterns, tendency to wander away from people, and hyper-fixation on people and things point to some kind of disorder. This is lampshaded when the head of the institution he was checked into regrets that he left before they could really figure out what was wrong with him.
• Fair for Its Day: On the one hand, Mark Shubb's transition to a woman is used for a punchline with her still-deep voice used for comedic contrast with her new gender expression (as well as a stealth joke about how the band now presumably cannot wholly call itself "The Folksmen"). However, her character being totally accepted by her friends, happy in her transition, and still being able to play in her band in public all stand out as pretty progressive for 2003.
• Heartwarming Moments: When Mitch and Mickey finally get their act together.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Watch Mitch and Mickey's performance at the 76th Academy Awards. Lars finally got his crane shots!
• Memetic Mutation: The Dean Blundell morning show on Toronto rock station Edge 102 would frequently sample Mike LaFontaine's catchphrases from Wha' Happened?
• Older Than They Think:
  • The Folksmen predate the movie by nearly 20 years; their first "reunion performance" was on the November 3, 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live.
  • The Folksmen used to open for the band's other persona, Spinal Tap, in Tap's live concerts. They were frequently booed by the audiences, who either didn't know or didn't care that the Folksmen were actually Spinal Tap in different costumes. (In the A Mighty Wind tour, Spinal Tap opened for the Folksmen.)
• Tear Jerker:
  • "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow." You know why...
  • Mitch's story arc in general. Poor guy...
• Values Dissonance: The very final joke of the film being that Mark Shubb has transitioned to living like a woman may come across as insensitive for some modern viewers, particularly since her deep voice is used as a punchline. The character's name is never re-established, either, making it feel more dismissive. However, her bandmates appear to be accepting of her decision, albeit possibly begrudgingly, and Shubb is ultimately shown as being happy with having transitioned, so YMMV indeed.

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