I have never done live radio, but I have done quite a bit of theater, in many different capacities, including directing, producing, writing, set design and creation, sound design and tech, light design and tech, advertising, even acting. There's magic in the theater, for me, because I love it so much. So when I watched A Prairie Home Companion, which is about the last night of a homegrown America live radio show, I found its rambling nature and scattered focus on details endearing, even nostalgic. Of course, the movie touches on nostalgia constantly, as we hear old-style radio commercials, where the DJ did the advertising, with support from his performers for a little extra punch, listen to old country tunes and feel, in general, several decades in the past. The present jolts us, courtesy of Lindsay Lohan's character, who embodies the angsty, suicide-obsessed, almost gothic attitude of youth today, and, of course, Tommy Lee Jones' Axeman, who is shutting down the whole shebang.

I enjoyed the movie immensely, although I realized that it didn't exactly have a plot. Then I realized that it's not supposed to, it's a Robert Altman mockumentary and the sheer joy of seeing a production at work was enough of a story for me. That whole last show of a season, or an era, or of a live radio broadcast, has such a bittersweetness in reality which is effectively echoed in the film. Especially for me, an artist barely working with a production, it made me ache to be a part of something more, and ache that it was ending for these people.

I know that this film touched something in me, but some might find it too unfocused and become frustrated for the lack of story.

My favorite moments are when Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly sing the dirty jokes song. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin give pitch-perfect performances. I didn't even mind Lindsay Lohan so much, her not being staggeringly central. But the advertising bits were the best. Hands down.

I really liked this movie.