This Is Spinal Tap (1984) * *

 

Directed by:  Rob Reiner

Starring:  Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, June Chadwick, Paul Shaffer

Rob Reiner's sad and sudden death in December brought about nearly universal acclaim for his career.  He was a great actor and just as deft a director.  This Is Spinal Tap was his feature film debut in which he played documentary filmmaker Marty DiBerghi, who made a "rockumentary" about a fading British metal band whose glory days were clearly behind them but wanted to keep on rocking even if crowds were dwindling at their concerts.

As much as I hate to say it, This Is Spinal Tap is not among Reiner's best work.  It's sporadically amusing, but not a gut buster.  The humor is subtle, so much so that maybe I missed it.  There are long, droning interviews with the clueless band members, but they don't draw out many laughs.  Reiner's subsequent films like The Sure Thing, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., Misery, and A Few Good Men showcased his directing talents more effectively.  It was quite a stretch for Reiner, but I'd have to leave This Is Spinal Tap off of it. 

Spinal Tap pathetically attempts to remain relevant and reclaim their past glory, but a series of poor management decisions and subpar marketing have doomed Spinal Tap to a laughingstock.  One autograph session for their new album "Smell the Glove" draws zero attendees and the event organizer (Shaffer) can only lament what he thought would be a crowd-drawing spectacle.  The band's concerts contain sight gags like drummers simultaneously combusting and band members emerging from pods with bass player Derek Smalls (Shearer) stuck in one for the duration of the opening song.  

The band is unfortunately inept, not at performing necessarily, but about other aspects of the business such as marketing and interviews.  I've stated before that a British accent almost always makes someone sound more intelligent than he or she may actually be.  One could say "2 +2=6" and I'd halfway believe it.   The members of Spinal Tap push that notion to the extreme test.  But based on the movie's reputation, I expected a lot more.  Maybe this is why it took me over forty years to see it for the first time.