Best in Show (film) - Plot

Plot

Best in Show is presented as a documentary of five dogs and their owners destined to show in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, held in Philadelphia. The documentary jumps among owners as they prepare to leave for the show, arrive at the hotel, and prepare backstage before their dog takes the show, as well as post-show. The owners and their dogs include:

• Gerry and Cookie Fleck (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara), with their Norwich Terrier Winky -

A middle-class couple from Florida, who run into monetary problems and are forced to sleep in the hotel's storage room when they finally arrive. Throughout the film, they encounter men whom Cookie slept with during her youth.

• Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock), with their Weimaraner Beatrice -

An upper-class, stereotypical yuppie couple from Chicago, they think they are taking great care of Beatrice (although really they are just confusing and upsetting her with their neurotic behavior), going as far as taking her to a therapist after she sees Meg and Hamilton have sex. At the show, the Swans believe that Beatrice will become unnerved without her favorite toy, the "Busy Bee", and frantically search for a replacement for it before the show.

• Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest) and his Bloodhound Hubert -

Pepper's family has raised a variety of hounds for generations, and Harlan continues the tradition by raising bloodhounds (though he has aspirations of becoming a ventriloquist).

• Sherri Ann and Leslie Ward Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw) with their Standard Poodle Rhapsody in White (a.k.a. Butch) -

A two-time past winner of the show. Sherri Ann is a luscious big-breasted blonde; the elderly Leslie is her sugar daddy. Their relationship is reminiscent of the marriage between Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall II. Sherri Ann is primarily worried about giving Rhapsody a makeover; however, trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch) makes sure the dog is truly ready for the show, while Leslie remains utterly oblivious and apathetic. Over the course of the film, Sherri Ann and Leslie's fake couplehood crumples, while Sherri Ann and Christy's romantic involvement becomes apparent.

• Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof (John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean) and their Shih Tzu Miss Agnes -

A campy gay couple, they take great pride in their dog, and are confident that she will win the competition.

The owners and their dogs all arrive in time for the show, which is hosted by dog expert Trevor Beckwith (Jim Piddock), and oblivious "color" commentator Buck Laughlin (Fred Willard). During the first round, Beatrice is disqualified when Hamilton cannot control her, but the other four dogs advance to the final round. Just before the finals, Cookie dislocates her knee and insists that Gerry take over for her. Though the audience is initially awed by seeing Gerry's "two left feet" (the result of a birth defect), ultimately Winky takes Best in Show.

Afterwards, the film explores what each character is doing after the competition. Gerry and Cookie returned home to Florida and were overcome with attention after the victory. They go on to record, in amusingly bad style, songs about terriers but discover to Gerry's frustration that the recording engineer is yet another of Cookie's ex-boyfriends (Steven Porter). Sherri Ann and Christy have entered into a partnership (It is unknown if either Leslie has passed away or if he has gotten divorced from Sherri Ann.) and publish a magazine for lesbian owners of purebred dogs, called American Bitch. Harlan fulfills his dreams and becomes a ventriloquist, entertaining sparse crowds with a honky tonk song and dance number. Stefan and Scott are in the process of designing a calendar featuring Shih Tzu dogs appearing in scenes, with appropriate costume, from famous classic films, such as Gone with the Wind and Casablanca (and McMillan and Wife, for some reason.) Hamilton and Meg Swan seem to have given Beatrice away, allowing them to enjoy a calmer, more loving partnership as well as a new dog (a pug) that they claim enjoys watching them make love.