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THE PROBLEM WITH setting the standards for greatness is that, once you have raised the bar to great heights, you have to keep topping yourself each time. In truth, there may not be a funnier ensemble of comics and character actors working today than the revolving pool of Second City alumni that musician-director-Renaissance man Christopher Guest has orbiting around him; their combination of well-honed improvisational chops and pitch-perfect satirical instincts have turned 10-words-or-fewer pitches (mockumentaries on has-been heavy metal bands, no-talent theater groups, and wacky dog shows) into comedy touchstones. The latest from Guest and guests, A Mighty Wind, is another high-concept parody that obviously comes laden with high expectations: when the legendary folk music impresario Irving Steinbloom passes away, his son organizes a tribute show featuring the crème de la crème of the 1960s Bleecker Street scene. The event heralds the return of such seminal acts as the Folksmen (the holy trinity of Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer), the reunited Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara), and that amusement-park staple, the "New" Main Street Singers, in a concert that, to quote the film's poster, puts the warhorse acts "back together for the first time, again." Based on a short film the Spinal Tap trio originally did on Saturday Night Live, Wind features the genius comic turns (Levy's shell-shocked Brian Wilson impersonation vies with Fred Willard's unctuous band manager for the show-stealing throne) and deadpan shtick that's become synonymous with the all-star collective. But unlike the previous films, this experiment in without-a-net creative comedy never quite gels, and one senses that not even the editing room could turn what's essentially a number of disparate, fragmented laugh-riot ideas into the cohesive tour de force their legacy demands. It's still far funnier and more inventive than most of what passes for yukfests these days, but compared to what the cast has shown themselves capable of attaining, this latest installment seems less a majestic gale than a wispy, slight breeze. (David Fear)