 A film in three minutes, best in show. Are you a dog lover? Someone who's enthusiasm for canines knows no bounds? A trusted companion to a four-legged friend that you incidentally may also take after more than you care to admit. Now, how's about loving your dog so much that you decide to enter it into a professional competition where your desire to win the coveted top prize dominates your life to the point that your canophilia may be considered by some to be a tad unhealthy? So I ask you again, are you a dog lover? Because Christopher Guest's mockumentary best in show might make you reevaluate your answer. Released in the year 2000, the story follows five dogs and their questionable owners who all travel to the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club dog show held in Philadelphia. We are given glimpses into the quirky lives of each owner and the deep-rooted relationships they have with their beloved pets, with some verging on the absurd and others downright obsessive. We also meet the friends, spouses, and trainers of each owner and quickly become subsumed into this bizarre world that director Guest and actor writer Eugene Levy have created. Guest himself plays a down-to-ear fishing store owner, Harlan Pepper, who enters his bloodhound into the competition. While Levy plays Jerry Fleck, the proud owner of a Norwich Terrier, who also happens to suffer from a birth defect that has given him two left feet. As per Guest's previous comedies, the vast majority of scenes involving the actors were improvised, with no detailed planning going into the many interactions each of the characters have with one another. The mockumentary style enables the camera to capture many intimate and often hilarious moments during the travels of the five contestants. From Jerry discovering that his wife Cookie, played by Catherine O'Hara, has slept with hundreds of men across the entire Eastern seaboard to gay couples Scott and Stefan arguing about how many kimonos they need to pack for a 48-hour trip. These funny snapshots relentlessly build on top of one another as the big day approaches and provide even more side-splitting insights, such as when neurotic couple Meg and Hamilton Swan lose their Weimarina's favorite toy. The world of the dog show comes alive thanks to the backstage access the camera crew has given, showing us an incredibly realistic depiction of the level of preparation the dogs and their owners have to go through for such an event. Adding to the comedy are the performances of the show's official commentators, played magnificently by Jim Pidock and the late Fred Willard, with Willard's totally clueless commentary providing some of the film's best lines. Guest would continue directing improvised comedies featuring much of the same cast with 2003's A Mighty Wind arguably being his best work, but the charm of Best in Show resides first and foremost with the relationship its furry voiceless stars have with their eccentric owners. And regardless of your personal affinity or that thereof for dogs, you'll be hard-pressed not to laugh at the many gags, one-liners and physical slapstick that over 20 years since release still hit their mark perfectly, making this comedy one mean pedigree.