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"Groupies Love It
When I Pucker My Lips" |
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Directed by Rob Reiner -
Written by Christopher
Guest, Michael McKean
Starring Michael McKean,
Christopher Guest, Harry
Shearer
Distributed by MGM -
1984 - 82mins - Rated R |
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Does for rock and roll what "Sound of Music" did for hills. |
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There
is a reason why "This is Spinal Tap" works. The same reason why a
well-done mockumentary always works: humor is not derived from set up
situations, but from characters and their quirks. "This is Spinal Tap"
doesn't ask for laughs, as so many comedies do. It invites you to
laugh, but doesn't beg for it.
Directed by Rob Reiner, "This is Spinal Tap" is a satire of 1980s rock
music, and those who played it. Reiner also stars as Marty DiBergi, a
documentary filmmaker and rock music fan. He sets out to make a film
about Spinal Tap, an aging rock band whose US tour is slowly
dwindling. The band members include David St. Hubbins (Michael
McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Dereck Smalls (Harry
Shearer). Marty follows them around as they go on their disastrous
tour.
As said above, what makes this film funny is the characters and what
they say. The humor isn't paraded in front of the audience and made
obvious, like Nigel's secret love for David, which is exists
throughout the film, but is never confirmed. Many viewers will never
catch it. Most of the humor, though, comes from the fact that these
fellows aren't too smart, and they don't realize that their 15 minutes
are almost up. Which makes us really feel for these guys. They feel
real. They don't feel like characters. We feel bad that they aren't
going to last much longer.
Of course, it's by no means a somber film, and the biggest laughs come
from sophisticated silliness. A miscalculation in scale leads to
massive disaster during a concert dedicated to Stonehenge. The band's
last few drummers have met mysterious deaths (one by spontaneous
combustion, the other by a tragic gardening accident). Then there's
the songs. "This is Spinal Tap" could essentially be a musical due to
all of the musical interludes. The songs are original, the music
catchy, and the lyrics hysterical. Strangely, many people thought that
Spinal Tap was a real band and that this was a real documentary. The
actors ended up recording several Spinal Tap CDs and they went on tour
several times.
One of Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" and named by Entertainment Weekly
as the Number One Greatest Cult Film of All Time, "This is Spinal Tap"
is definitely a classic. It only gets a B+ from me because while it's
very funny, I feel it could have been hysterical. Since this is the
first mockumentary (to my knowledge), the technique is experimental.
The editing isn't too clean, and it never seems to go anywhere.
Complaints aside, this is a very good film and well worth your time.
The mockumentaries by Christopher Guest may be better, but this one
started it all. |
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
Email
Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Richard Propes' Comment
Over time,
"This is Spinal Tap" has worn a bit thin with
me. It's a well done "mockumentary," however, I
doubt it'll ever be a film that I find myself
saying "Man, I'm in a Spinal Tap mood." The cast
is marvelous, Guest's direction is strong...It's
a good film, ever so slightly overrated.
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