Mockumentaries have proven time and time again to be an effective and hilarious way to bring a lot of seriously funny people together, and that looks to be exactly for Cook-Off!, a new film from directors Cathryn Michon and Guy Shalem. The movie brings together some fantastic comedians doing what looks like some very strange character work - and you can check out what they're bringing to the table in the first trailer for the movie below:
It's hard not to watch this trailer for Cook Off! and not immediately think about all of the movies that are in Christopher Guest's filmmography (it definitely looks like his style is being aped here), but certainly helping as a healthy distraction is the amazing collecting of funny actors who have come together for the comedy. Melissa McCarthy is probably the most well-known face in the crowd, playing competitor Amber Strang, but watching that footage you may have seen some recognizable faces including Louis Anderson, Phil LaMarr, Diedrich Bader, Mo Collins, Ben Falcone, Steve Little and Wendi McLendon-Covey.
Based on a script by Cahtryn Michon, W. Bruce Cameron, and Wendi McLendon-Covey, Cook-Off! is a film that centers around the "renowned" Van Rookle Farms Cooking Contest - an annual event where amateur chefs have the opportunity to compete against each other for the opportunity to win a $1 million prize. With the stakes as high as they are, the competition gets incredibly fierce, and because it's an event that seems to attract a hell of a lot of weirdos, it doesn't look like it takes very long for things to get super odd.
Speaking of super odd, it should be noted that Cook-Off! is actually a movie with a shocking amount of history - and by that I mean that it's actually been done for about a full decade. Going to the movie's IMDb page, you may notice that the film is actually dated for 2007, having first been shown at the US Comedy Arts Festival Aspen back in February of that year. It's unclear as to exactly why Lionsgate Premiere is now choosing to try and get the movie out to a wider audience - but here's hoping that it's because it's an underseen gem that the studio is trying to get more eyeballs on. In truth it's probably more about cashing in on Melissa McCarthy's name since she doesn't have any other movies coming out in 2017, but we can try to stay optimistic.
After having been kept under a rock for about 10 years, Cook-Off! is getting a limited and internet release later this year. Folks will be able to get their own look at the mockumentary is made available on November 17, which is to say just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
