Simply A Masterpiece

Sadly Over-hyped

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

10/10 may be a touch gushing, but some of the jokes in this film still get me today, something which can't be said of many films which are almost as old as I am.If you still haven't seen this then you should if only for the special custom amp joke, and of course the 'henge.The amp joke is even still relevant in more modern times, with our politicians in the UK apparently eager to follow the band's hilariously stupid lead (by creating an "A*" rating for student exams, when making an "A" rating harder to achieve would have perhaps been the more intelligent option).Well worth your time.

On TVTropes, I constantly heard the phrase "Up To Eleven" being used. I even frequently used it myself when editing the website, even though I had never seen the movie. The funny thing is that even in the movie itself they make fun of this. It features the interviewer wondering why they don't just make ten louder. I didn't even recognize Harry Shearer in this. He's such a talented entertainer I have to acknowledge him.The funniest line is probably when they mention choking on vomit, but not his own vomit. The biggest appeal to this movie is probably how realistic it is. Spinal Tap isn't a real band, but they certainly seem like one here. With all the controversy and crazy things going on bands, it's great to have a piece of satire like this. Everyone acts like they are in a real documentary and while not as good as "Borat", still a significant film. I'll ignore "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn!" over this. ***1/2

Arguably the father, and for sure the gold standard of the modern mockumentary, "This Is Spinal Tap" showed audiences how razor fine the line can be between truth and hilarious fiction. A satire of '70s rock 'n roll bands, the film is hysterical because of how closely it resembles a real rock band and mirrors many truths about the music industry.With a script largely driven by improvisation from stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner (who also directs), "Spinal Tap" relies on this talent pool to create an entertaining product. The film consists of little more than interviews between Reiner's "director" Marty DiBergi and band members David St. Hubbins (McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Guest) and Derek Smalls (Shearer), footage from their American tour and some candid conversations. What makes the story interesting is not what happens, but the character dynamics/interpersonal drama.Merely the scenario that Spinal Tap is a band in the twilight of its career, with its popularity at an all time low, creates enough opportunities for tension and movement in the story. With all of this comes creative differences, blame and flaring tempers. All these elements are true of rock bands enduring difficult times and that framework successfully guides the characters' quirkiness.The music is also a big part of why the film works. The cast members are actual musicians with a great degree of talent, which creates authenticity, to the point that Spinal Tap could actually be a band. This is an entertaining and believable act, and what happens to them, though to the point of being amusing, also falls well within the realm of likelihood. The classic miscommunication about the Stonehenge stage prop is hysterical, but in this quiet, reasonable, almost graceful way.Subtlety is really the hallmark of "This Is Spinal Tap" and its cast. Once a mockumentary film starts to lean too hard on hilarious scenarios, it starts to bleed over into the genre of situational comedy, and that's when you start to think less about the veracity of what you're watching as an audience and more about the writing. A great documentary never becomes so transparent that you can see its "script," and the same holds true of effective mockumentaries. "Spinal Tap" is genius because you can rarely see the comedy cogs at work — they emerge naturally from a talented cast that had a brilliant idea.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

Filmed in documentary style, this fiction film chronicles the ups and downs on a rock band on tour with a penchant for outrageousness. The songs are highly memorable throughout (especially 'Big Bottom' and 'Stonehenge') and kooky touches include a party in which all the waiters are mimes and, of course, the amplifier that goes up to 11. This is not, however, the easiest film to get through. Innovative as Rob Reiner's choice to shoot the film as a mockumentary no doubt is, the content soon grows repetitive with the band members saying one dumb thing after another, whether it be professing that spontaneous combustion in humans exists or stating that the insides of a human body look green and blue. Much better dark humour comes in the form of a running gag in which it is gradually revealed that dozens of drummers in the band have died in mysterious circumstances over the years, with the band's current drummer claiming that "the law of averages" should keep him safe (!) - and yet, the focus here is always on the ridiculous things the band members say and the misfortunes they experience along the way. Along such lines, the film pokes sharply at the notion that talent and intelligence are not always aligned in life, but whether this dynamic is enough to sustain the film is debatable. Certainly, the film has a hardy fan-base with some regarding it as one of the funniest films ever made, and as it is often said, comedy is the most subjective genre out there. This is a worthwhile movie, but probably best appreciated by those keenly interested in rock music.