This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Embassy/Comedy RT: 82 minutes Rated R (language, some sexual references) Director: Rob Reiner Screenplay: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner Music: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner Cinematography: Peter Smokler Release date: March 2, 1984 (US) Cast: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, June Chadwick, Tony Hendra, David Kaff, R.J. Parnell, Bruno Kirby, Ed Begley Jr., Danny Kortchmar, Fran Drescher, Patrick Macnee, Julie Payne, Dana Carvey, Billy Crystal, Sandy Helberg, Zane Buzby, Paul Benedict, Howard Hesseman, Victory Tischler-Blue, Joyce Hyser, Gloria Gifford, Paul Shaffer, Archie Hahn, Charles Levin, Anjelica Huston, Fred Willard, Robert Bauer, Fred Asparagus. Box Office: $5.8M (US)
Rating: *** ½
Are you a fan of mockumentary comedies like Waiting for Guffman (1997) Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003)? Me too. They can all be traced back to 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, a riotously funny rock documentary (or if you will “rockumentary”) about the fictional British heavy metal band Spinal Tap. It’s the directorial debut of Rob Reiner better known at the time as “Meathead”, the liberal son-in-law of America’s favorite blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker. Who knew he’d go on to do some of the biggest movies of the 80s and early 90s- The Sure Thing (1985), Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990, A Few Good Men (1992) and The American President (1995). We don’t talk about North (1994).
Reiner also acts in This Is Spinal Tap. He plays Marty Di Bergi, the fictional director filming a documentary about Spinal Tap’s North American concert tour to promote their latest album Smell the Glove. The members are lead singer David St. Hubbins (McKean, Laverne & Shirley), guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Guest, Heartbeeps), bassist Derek Smalls (Shearer, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh), keyboardist Viv Savage (Rare Bird keyboardist Kaff) and drummer Mick Shrimpton (Atomic Rooster drummer Parnell). One of the film’s funniest running jokes is their poor history with drummers who always tend to die in weird ways. One dies in a “bizarre gardening accident”; another chokes on vomit, somebody else’s vomit.
The film follows the band through the tour with all the personal drama and various things going wrong (e.g. cancelled gigs, set malfunctions, etc.). The record company wants the band to change their album cover after a few major retailers refuse to sell it. It shows a leashed woman on all fours being forced to smell a glove in a man’s hand. What’s so objectionable about that? Things are already tense between the longtime bandmates; they get worse when David invites his girlfriend Jeanine (Chadwick, Forbidden World) to join them. Nobody else, especially Nigel, wants her there. She’s their Yoko Ono. That and other things lead to a near-breakup of the band.
This Is Spinal Tap is especially funny if you’re familiar with rock documentaries like The Song Remains the Same (1976), The Last Waltz (1978) and The Kids Are Alright (1979). Movies like these tend to put their subjects on pedestals. The makers clearly worship the bands. Reiner takes this idea and runs with it in the opposite direction. He shows us a band whose members live in a constant state of denial. They either can’t or refuse to see they’re not as relevant as they once were if they ever were at all. The scene where nobody shows up at a record-signing event is hilarious and sad at the same time. He also goofs on the often pretentious behavior of musicians with their pseudo-philosophical comments and pettiness over small things. The famous “these go to 11” scene is still a masterpiece of comic timing. The long pause after Marty asks Nigel a perfectly logical question is classic!
Now a few words about the writing. Although it’s credited to four people, it’s really more of an all-around collaboration. All of the dialogue is ad-libbed. Basically, Reiner gave his actors a set-up, pointed the camera and said “Action!” The result is some of the funniest and most intelligent dialogue you’ll ever hear. It has this natural flow you never hear in scripted lines. It helps that the actors understand the material and their characters. That’s true of everybody, even minor characters like the limo driver (Kirby, When Harry Met Sally) who attempts in vain to explain the appeal of Frank Sinatra to the disinterested band. Fran Drescher (The Nanny) shows up as a record company executive who throws a big party for the guys complete with mime waiters (Dana Carvey, Julie Payne and Billy Crystal). This aspect of This Is Spinal Tap is dead perfect.
The music in This Is Spinal Tap, written by McKean, Guest, Shearer and Reiner, is hilariously awful with tunes like “Big Bottom”, “Hell Hole” and “Stonehenge”. The last one comes with a hysterically funny performance involving a prop that got made wrong. What makes it all truly funny is that the band genuinely thinks their music is profound. They even try to experiment with different forms only to learn that it further alienates what few fans they have left. They are so dense. It’s a riot!
The bottom line about This Is Spinal Tap is this. Reiner nails it perfectly. He understands the material and it shows in every frame. He films it in a cinema verite style which gives it a stronger sense of authenticity. He shows the sights, sounds and smells of the rock-and-roll lifestyle with all the highs and lows (mostly lows). There’s a slight hint of sadness in the band’s utter cluelessness about their relevance to the current music scene. They never give up even though they’re long past their expiration date. You see so much of that in the real world with some celebrities who refuse to go away even after their 15 minutes is up. This is why This Is Spinal Tap works as well it does.
