There are two sides to every story: the truth, and what David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) of the infamous British heavy metal rock band, Spinal Tap, think is the truth. With obvious delusions of grandeur, the band ignores their ever-decreasing fan base, countless cancelled gigs and eighteen-inch tall replicas of Stonehenge to try and relive their glory days as one of the world’s greatest heavy metal rock bands.
This mockumentary is a satirical work of genius directed by Rob Reiner, commenting on the ridiculousness of the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Constantly named as one of the funniest movies of all time, the humor is often lost on rock stars, who find the film to be too close to home. After seeing “This is Spinal Tap” for the first time, Eddie Van Halen felt that, “[he] failed to see the humor in the film. Everything in that movie happened to [him].”
This is especially disturbing, because if everything in the movie happened to him, then he must have acted like a pretentious, yet oblivious self obsessed brat who complains backstage about the size of bread he was given to make a sandwich. And yet, Reiner takes the viewer through the hardships and dedication that these band members have gone through to get to where they are, making them loveable and highlights the audience’s desire for them to succeed.
Their commitment to music has morphed their style from a Beatles cover band, to a “Flower Child” psychedelic folk band, to their current state as a bad heavy metal hard rock band, Spinal Tap. Although transformations in real life might not be as drastic, these are some of the troubles that real bands deal with. Other problems expressed are those with changing members (they’ve had 37 over the years), the first drummer “died in a bizarre gardening accident,” and canceling gigs, “I wouldn’t worry about it though, [Boston] isn’t a big college town.”
On a scale of ten, this movie, like Spinal Tap’s amplifier volume, is an eleven. The success of the film may not have skyrocketed into the mainstream, but the cultural significance to the movie and music industries is undeniable. The comic brilliance of the movie’s screenwriters (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner) allowed the actors to take on an entirely new life as rock stars. Subtly witty, “This is Spinal Tap” may not appeal to those who don’t understand sarcasm and satire, but that is okay because in the words of David St. Hubbins, “It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.”
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