This Is Spinal Tap
I'm a huge metal fan. Whether hair metal, old school, nu metal, alt-metal, prog metal or death metal, I like 'em all. We're talking Iron Maiden, Korn, Poison, Nirvana, Megadeth, Slipknot, Tool, Anthrax, System of a Down, Savatage, Alice In Chains, Faith No More, Disturbed, Queensryche, Sepultura, Shockplate and many more. And with that enjoyment of heavy metal comes an appreciation of the greatest rock satire of all-time: This Is Spinal Tap.
Directed by Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally) -- who also doubles as budding documentarian Marty DiBergi -- this mockumentary follows the floundering career of the once-great Spinal Tap. Led by guitarist/vocalist David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), guitarist/vocalist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), the Tap is ready to embark on what will surely be a hugely successful tour in support of their new album.
Alas, a variety of dastardly forces unite to ruin Spinal Tap's big tour, from meddling record execs to politically correct organizations to women who, well, are just frightened of the band because they have armadillos in their trousers. Infighting within the band, a mysterious Yoko Ono-esque character, and the band's inability to make it from the dressing room to the stage without getting lost don't help the cause, either. Can the band overcome hardship and rekindle their former glory, or will they be stuck playing barmitzvahs?
Despite a lean running time of 82 minutes, This Is Spinal Tap manages to lampoon an impressive number of rock and metal cliches. The result is a plethora of classic scenes and one-liners, such as:
1) Spinal Tap's guitarist shows off his amps to director Marty DiBergi, and brags about how it's so loud it "goes to 11." When DiBergi asks why he just doesn't make 10 louder, the guitarist looks puzzled for a moment before offering his deadpan response: "This one goes to 11."
2) When a record exec informs the band that a women's rights group has protested their album cover as being sexist, a band member replies, "What's wrong with being sexy?"
3) After bassist Derek Smalls is stopped at an airport X-ray machine, it's revealed that his impressive manhood is the result of a cucumber being inserted into his leather pants.
4) In an effort to add some stage theatrics to their epic prog-metal classic "Stonehenge," the band enlists an architect to build a mammoth replica Stonehenge. But the results are anything but epic...
5) A band member, in expressing the group's philosophy, notes, "Well, we don't literally say 'love your brother'; we don't even literally mean it. But we're anything but racist."
The film is also filled with live performances of such Spinal Tap classics as "Big Bottom," "Hell Hole," and "Sex Farm." Each is as hilarious as its title would suggest and does a great job of skewering the big dumb sex mentality of many hard rock bands.
Despite its greatness, This Is Spinal Tap does suffer a bit from the fact that it pre-dated the heyday of the hair metal explosion, which could have lent itself to some more good gags that seem to be missing from the film. And some of the jokes here have copied so many times they probably don't seem as fresh as they did nearly 20 years ago. But considering, for example,that Spinal Tap's black album pre-dates Metallica's by seven years, it's hard to complain too much.
This Is Spinal Tap rewards repeat viewings, as it delivers as much subtle humor as in-your-face laughs. Keep an eye out for cameos by stars such as Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby and Dana Carvy. The Special Edition DVD, boasting a hilarious intro, incredibly funny commentary track (which Entertainment Weekly ranked as the best ever), and hours of solid deleted scenes, is a must-watch. Whether you're a rock or heavy metal fan -- or even if you hate these genres -- you'll get a kick out of This Is Spinal Tap.
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Heavy metal and heavy drinking make a good match.
Songs with titles like "Big Bottom." Men with armadillos in their trousers. OK, so maybe this isn't the greatest date flick around.
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2) When Harry Met Sally
