Who does not like a surprise?  That is what I got today when I started scrolling for a film to watch and found Mascots (2016).  I thought I had seen all of Christoper Guest’s mockumentaries, but I guess I was wrong.  For once, that is not an unpleasant feeling.  This is a poor comparison, but it is somewhat like being surprised by God.  He always has what is best for us in mind, and He did me a solid today by bringing me a film from a series I appreciate.  I did not care for a few moments of lewdness in the movie, but they are thankfully brief.  It even ends with one of the title people, Tommy “Zook” Zucarello (Chris O’Dowd) who dons the costume of a character he calls “The Fist” for lower-level hockey leagues, becoming a monk.  It is not perfect, with him saying a curse word before the credits, but I guess it is something?

The actual something in the film is a group of people who consider themselves professional Mascots that are preparing to compete in the World Mascot Association Championship, known as “The Fluffies.”  Because this is an ensemble cast, I will be approaching this synopsis a little differently, giving the overall story and introducing characters as needed.  As for the competition, it is a yearly held event that its organizer, Langston Aubrey (Michael Hitchcock), hopes to move to the absurdly titled cable channel network called Gluten Free Television.  Its producers, Upton French (John Michael Higgins) and Jessica Mundt (Maria Blasucci), are on hand to decide whether the event is worthy content.  Among the judges are mascot author and celebrity Gabby Monkhouse (Jane Lynch), and another ex-performer, A.J. Blumquist (Ed Begley Jr.).  The two consider the other a rival, which begins when they check into their hotel.  Gabby gets the “John Wayne” suite, while A.J. must settle for “Slim Pickens.”  Sprinkled throughout are the kinds of interviews you have come to expect from these films, which focus on the competitors.  These include Mike (Zach Woods) and Mindy Murray (Sarah Baker), a dysfunctional married couple that work for a minor league baseball as, respectively, Ollie the Octopus and Tammy the Turtle; from England, we get Owen Golly Jr. (Tom Bennett), who entertains crowds as Sid the Hedgehog for a local soccer team; there is Cindi Babineaux (Parker Posey), who dons an armadillo costume of her own making for the Amelia Earhart College for Women; and finally, we have Phil Mayhew (Christopher Moynihan), who takes his Jack the Plumber persona perhaps the most seriously of all the other contestants.  For example, once he arrives in Anaheim, California, for the championship, he hires a so-called mascot coach, Greg Gammons Jr. (Fred Willard), to improve his routine.  Greg’s advice involves hiring a little person to be a piece of poo to come out of a toilet while on stage.  I suppose these efforts pay off as Phil earns third place.  Phil is not the only one looking for an edge.  Despite having an act he inherited from his father, Owen Golly Sr. (Jim Piddock), who preceded him as Sid, Junior wants to update it.  It involves a ladder, something Senior finds foolhardy, but actually brings Junior the gold in what turns into an entertaining performance.  The person who had most hoped to place is Cindi, with her experimental dance number.  Unfortunately, the morning of the competition, she develops a terrible case of food poisoning and has to be replaced by her sister, Laci Babineaux (Susan Yeagley).  While Laci’s show does credit to Cindi, it is too bizarre for the judges and she does not place.  In case you are wondering about the Murrays, their exhibition devolves into a disaster.  In the days leading up to the final competition, we see there are cracks in the relationship.  Her cruelty has driven him to infidelity in the past, and this time it manifests itself in a fling with Laci.  As a result, when they get on stage, instead of sticking to the script, they engage in a public brawl.  A year passes and they claim to have worked out their marital issues, but it is clear that he still has a wandering eye and she is abusive.  This Catholic applauds them for keeping their marriage together, but even the Church allows for some marriages to be annulled under certain circumstances.  The rest seem to give up on the so-called title profession, except for Phil.  Despite earlier being asked to perform for a school for the blind, he continues to go wherever people want a plucky, fluffy plumber to cheer their lives.

What is also cheering is the brevity of Mascots, which also partially explains the shortness of my synopsis.  As with Guest’s other mockumentaries, it is difficult to describe in a full or linear manner like other narrative films.  A lot of the so-called action is interviews, and describing those in any detail would be tedious.  What is also difficult is talking about the film from a Catholic perspective.  The only thing to do, really, is to return to Zook becoming a monk at the end.  It is described as being part of a Michael Landon-inspired Christian cult in which his parents raised him.  While I do not like the swearing in the last scene, I do think there is something to be said about a person realizing the error of their ways and turning to God.  If you think that somebody living the kind of dissolute life that Zook did and joining a religious order is strange, then I give you Sister Clare Crockett.  Prior to joining the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, she lived a life not too dissimilar to what we see from Zook.  His conduct is a bit lewder than what I know of hers, but they each engaged in a bit of substance abuse that has to be put aside in order to enter an order.  The thing is that people who are acting in such a way are searching for something that they may not realize in the midst of their illicit pursuits.  Hollywood typically presents this as some kind of vague, spiritual unrest.  In reality, it is people responding to God’s call in an unhealthy way.  The story presents Zook’s conversion as a farce, but I am here to tell you that it is not all that wild.

Despite what I have told you about Mascots, it is not that wild when considered in the context of other Guest mockumentaries.  It is familiar, but funny nonetheless.  I could have done without the racier elements, but it has some entertaining moments.