In theaters

A MIGHTY WIND, directed by Christopher Guest, written by Guest and Eugene Levy, 87 minutes, rated PG-13. Now playing, Spotlight Cinemas, Orono; Railroad Square Cinema, Waterville.

As with the best satirists – Mark Twain and Evelyn Waugh, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Mel Brooks and Kurt Vonnegut, the writers behind The Onion and the performers in Les Ballets Trockaderos de Monte Carlo, to name a few – Christopher Guest knows that in order to do satire well, you better be as good as what you’re satirizing. If you’re not, then the joke, in the end, likely will be on you.

In the director’s latest mockumentary, “A Mighty Wind,” the joke is on the folks behind folk music. Not the political folk of Joan Baez or Bob Dylan, but the foot-tapping, grotesquely cheerful folk of The Kingston Trio or The New Christy Minstrels, music so enthusiastically ebullient, listening to it can pop an artery.

As written by Guest and Eugene Levy, the film isn’t as vicious as Guest’s “Waiting for Guffman,” which sucker-punched small-town theater troupes. Nor is it as biting as “Best in Show,” which lifted its leg on the awful underbelly of dog shows, or as funny as Rob Reiner’s “This is Spinal Tap,” which featured Guest as both co-writer and co-star. But it does have its moments of savagery, which is what fans expect.

In the film, a celebrated promoter of folk music has recently gone to that great hootenanny in the sky, an event that inspires his son, Jonathan (Bob Balaban), to organize a reunion concert at New York’s Town Hall to honor his memory.

He does so by bringing together those groups his father championed in the mid- to late ’60s, such folk stars as the New Main Street Singers, nine unfortunates who now pay the rent by shucking their songs along the theme park circuit; The Folksmen (Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean), whose albums include “Wishin'” and “Pickin'”; and the infamous Mitch and Mickey (Levy and Catherine O’Hara), whose disastrous split forced Mitch to record “May She Rot in Hell” and “If I Had a Gun” before he retired to a mental institution.

How are they all faring now? Let’s just say that after a youth spent puffing too much magic dragon, the wind blowing against their backs carries with it a distinct whiff of desperation.

With an excellent cast that includes John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., Parker Posey and the indispensable Fred Willard and Jennifer Coolidge, both of whom steal each scene they’re in, “A Mighty Wind” follows all of Guest’s films in that the dialogue is mostly improvised. That gets to the heart of the film’s electrical air of spontaneity, but what ultimately deepens it, particularly at the end, is the great affection Guest clearly has for the times and for his characters.

Grade: B+

On video and DVD

(May 20)

25TH HOUR, directed by Spike Lee, written by David Benioff, based on his novel, 132 minutes, rated R.

Spike Lee’s “25th Hour” follows the life and hard times of Monty Brogan (Edward Norton), a troubled, 31-year-old man saying his goodbyes to those close to him the day before he leaves for a long stint in the big house.

There, thanks to a drug charge, he’ll spend the next seven years regretting his past, questioning his future and, perhaps most of all, wishing he weren’t so slight of build or, for that matter, so easy on the eyes.

Based on screenwriter David Benioff’s book, this is Lee’s 14th movie and it’s terrific, the first film to use the terrorist attacks on New York City as a backdrop and, in the end, as a metaphor. Indeed, if “25th Hour” is about the transitions taking place in Monty’s life, then it’s also just as much about a city in transition.

Loose but not structureless, the film weaves in and out of Monty’s relationships, flashing back and forward through time as time itself closes in. It introduces us to Monty’s Irish father, James (Brian Cox), who used his son’s drug money to free himself of debt; his beautiful girlfriend, Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), who knew but never questioned how Monty could afford to treat her so well; and his two childhood friends, Frank (Barry Pepper) and Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman), neither of whom interfered with Monty’s drug running, not even when he was pushing heroin to kids in neighborhood playgrounds.

At its core, the film is about responsibility – responsibility to ourselves and responsibility for others. If it lacks the engine of a formal plot, it moves briskly thanks to the underlying mystery that somebody here may have turned Monty in to the cops.

That mystery drives the film, but so does Monty’s barely contained rage, which gives the movie its brooding undercurrent, all of which comes to a boiling point when he launches into an unforgettable rant about everything he hates about New York City, including himself.

We’ve seen this before in Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” but this time out, with the city still pulling itself together, there’s an uncomfortable rawness only matched by the film’s brilliant final twist.

Grade: A

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6, and are archived on RottenTomatoes.com. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those capped and in bold print are new to video stores this week.

ANALYZE THAT ? C-

The Banger Sisters ? B

Barbershop ? B+

Catch Me if You Can ? A-

COMEDIAN ? B+

Drumline ? B+

8 Mile ? C

8 Women ? B

The Emperor’s Club ? C+

Far From Heaven ? A

Femme Fatale ? C+

Formula 51 ? F

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ? B+

Half Past Dead ? F

THE HOT CHICK ? C-

Igby Goes Down ? A

Lilo & Stitch ? B+

Maid in Manhattan ? B-

Minority Report ? A-

Moonlight Mile ? B

One Hour Photo ? A-

Rabbit Proof Fence ? A-

Real Women Have Curves ? A-

Red Dragon ? B+

The Ring ? C

The Road to Perdition ? A-

Secretary ? B+

Spirited Away ? A

Standing in the Shadows of Motown ? B+

Sweet Home Alabama ? B-

Swept Away ? D-

Swimfan ? C

The Transporter ? B-

Treasure Island ? B-

Two Weeks Notice ? C-

White Oleander ? B+

The Wild Thornberries Movie ? B+