Review: This is Spinal Tap

As the title suggests, this supposed documentary has documentarian Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) follow the title British heavy metal band for a 1982 American tour, their apparent comeback, which is plagued by disaster from the very beginning and only gets worse. There’s rhythm guitarist and lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), petulant moron lead guitarist Nigel Tufnell (Christopher Guest), fabulously moustachioed bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and zonked-out keyboardist Viv Savage (David Kaff). The band have also had a disturbingly long line of drummers who don’t seem to last very long on account of death by bizarre misadventure.

 

I’m not as much of a fan of this 1984 Rob Reiner (“Stand By Me”, “Misery”, “A Few Good Men”) mockumentary as many others out there, but I can’t deny it has some very funny moments and has become quite influential. Fans of Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath (both the Ozzy and Dio incarnations), Status Quo, Motorhead, and/or Jethro Tull will probably get even more out of this than most, as Reiner and his fellow screenwriters (Spinal Tap themselves- McKean, Guest, and Shearer) have clearly done their homework. But it never gets specific or nasty, it’s all in good fun. I’m definitely convinced Canadian prog rock band Rush had to be an influence here.

 

The best thing about the film are actually the songs, which are not only very funny, but to be honest, they’re actually fun to listen to as well, probably because they are only slightly pitched above reality, and Michael McKean’s singing is surprisingly not bad. Spinal Tap, unlike most movie bands, are good enough that you’d probably fork out the money to go see them, though obviously partly because you’re in on the gag. Whether it’s their funny, Beatles-esque early tune ‘Pop, Look, and Listen’ back in the 60s (with Ed Begley Jr. looking like a dork on the drums), the ridiculously pervy ‘Sex Farm’, the Queen-inspired ‘Big Bottom’, or my personal favourite ‘Stonehenge’, they’re hilarious and very clever. Actually, the entire Stonehenge sequence is a riot, with its hilarious prop that may or may not have been inspired by a similar incident (but done in reverse) involving Black Sabbath. The real-life incident happened around the time of the film being made, so I’m not entirely sure which came first, but either way it’s hysterically funny, and the dwarves are the icing on the ‘Safety Dance’ cake. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen this bit. My absolute favourite gag, however, is the one where the band get lost on their way to the stage. The funniest thing about it is that it later happened to Canadian metal band Anvil in their ‘Real Spinal Tap’ documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”. On a similar note, the band’s all-black album cover for ‘Smell the Glove’ was apparently inspired by the Beatles’ ‘White Album’ but would later be adopted by Metallica for their ‘Black Album’ (possibly in tribute to Spinal Tap). You just can’t make shit like that up, folks (Instead of the Bon Scott deal, someone here chokes on someone else’s vomit!). And just wait until you see the the original, controversial idea for the ‘Smell the Glove’ album cover, holy crap! The bit where Harry Shearer’s Derek Smalls gets trapped on stage by a malfunctioning prop and needs a blowtorch to get him out is hysterically funny. I also loved the petty backstage bit with Nigel Tufnell fretting about the geometric inconsistencies of the food supplied by catering.

 

Some of the film is funnier than other parts, as the party scene in particular is a bit of a bore, even with Patrick Macnee turning up, and Billy Crystal as a mime. But when it’s on-target, it can be quite genius (check out the increasingly zonked out keyboards player!), and frankly, more accurate to the scene than the more serious “Rock Star”.

 

This is easily the most convincing of all the so-called mockumentaries to feature these same guys (and others), but overall I still prefer Christopher Guest’s “A Mighty Wind” (about folk musicians), which had more consistency and more heart. This one’s just not as great as everyone else will tell you it is. Yes I’m a metal fan, but this is not just about being the butt of jokes. The jokes are wildly inconsistent. Some of it is great, some of it isn’t. Overall, it’s good, but that’s all. The amps may go to eleven, but the film is about a seven.

 

Rating: B-