After the actress Catherine O’Hara died, I decided to revisit some of her most vaunted performances, in comedies written by Christopher Guest. There was “Best in Show,” a mockumentary about competitive dog shows (like the ones I used to compete in — more on that later). 

There was “Waiting for Guffman,” about a small-town musical. 

And then there is “For Your Consideration,” the 2006 satire about the making of a Hallmark-style movie. I had never seen the movie, so I was pretty surprised to find out that the film-within-the-film is called “Home for Purim,” a tearjerker about a family gathering for Purim in the 1940s South.

In the mockumentary, rumors start to spread that the characters played by O’Hara, Harry Shearer and Parker Posey might be considered for Academy Awards. Excitement brews, but so does concern. The producers soon inform the writers that the topic is “too Jewish” and suggest that they drop the Purim of it all. One of the producers says, “Turn down the Jewishness so that everyone can enjoy it.” Goodbye, “Home for Purim”; hello, “Home for Thanksgiving.” 

In the end, the actors don’t get nominated for their performances, and, in typical Guest fashion, the characters exit stage left after being confronted with disappointment. 

There’s a way to watch this movie and be struck by the seriousness of the idea that Jewish characters are asked to mute their Judaism for the comfort........

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