Mascots review: Christopher Guest trades raucous humor for bland sincerity

It feels odd to say this, but the primary problem with Christopher Guest's latest improvised-dialogue mockumentary is that it just isn't mean enough. And the reason that statement feels odd is because Guest's movies have always had a deep-seated affection for their openly ridiculous characters. They've never been about cruelty or contempt. But they aren't above having a laugh at these insular communities — community theater in Waiting For Guffman, the competitive dog-show circuit Best