THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Comedy

Director: Rob Reiner

Cast: Christopher Guest / Michael McKean / Harry Shearer

Plot

Aging rock band Spinal Tap are the subject of a documentary capturing all of their pretentions, idiocy, and pomposity on their American tour.

What I Liked

The most amazing thing about “This is Spinal Tap” is how accurate it is, to the point that it not only spoofs the rock-umentaries that came before it (“Let It Be,” “The Song Remains the Same”), it somehow makes fun of the movies that wouldn’t come out yet for decades ("Decline Of Western Civilization, Part II," “Some Kind of Monster,” “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”).  Consequently, the film will never age, as long as there are future generations of self-important celebrities to catch on camera.  Each of the characters, band members and otherwise, so vividly reflect real-life rock personalities that the characters might as well be named Keith Richards, Steven Tyler, Keith Moon, Yoko Ono, or any other of the well-known stars of the genre.  I imagine every big name rock god who watched this movie just blushing and covering his face, with every silly argument, horrible song lyric, and ridiculous gimmick seeming all too familiar.

What makes the film work best is how it convincingly it appears to be a straight-faced documentary.  Using the same filming techniques common to true documentaries and full of a lot of clearly improvised acting, the movie has an immediacy necessary to make still even more familiar to fans of the rock documentary subgenre.  Christopher Guest and especially Michael McKean are both scathingly accurate in their performances of befuddled man-children nursing bruised egos.  Less prominently featured Harry Shearer makes the most of every chance he’s given with his portrayal of mustachioed bassist Derek Smalls, the “lukewarm water” to Guest and McKean’s fire and ice.

Most importantly, the movie is funny beyond being embarrassingly accurate.  There are so many classic lines and sight gags here it is impossible to list them all in a few paragraphs.  From stinging satire to knee-slapping slapstick, it’s all here.

What I Didn't Like

For fans familiar with documentaries on the rock music industry, there’s nothing to outright dislike.  Still, something about this film did leave this viewer a tad dissatisfied.  The movie’s plot is just not that interesting.  Beyond the gags, there’s not much substance here (which, of course, is the movie’s point).  The story of an aging rock band struggling to fan the flames of their dying fame and deal with lineup changes just isn’t all that interesting.  Yes, it’s accurate to almost every rock-umentary ever made, but consequently fails to make for a unique story.

Most Memorable Scene

What else? “These go to eleven.”

My Rating: 4 out of 5