Directed by Rob Reiner
80 minutes
Floor 3 Pink zone 791.4372 THI
It’s time to crank the speakers up to 11 for the comical mock ‘rockumentary’ of This is Spinal Tap. The comedy film sees British band Spinal Tap try to break into American with their album ‘Smell the Glove’ with cover art that is so controversial that it is unacceptable to the local market.
The band comprises of singer-guitarist David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), lead Guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer – best known for voicing Mr. Burns and Smithers in The Simpsons), Keyboard player Viv Savage (David Kaff), and Mick Shrimpton (R. J. Parnell), who is one of a long line of drummers who all befall mysterious fates. They act as perfect satires of many musicians, living the rock and roll lifestyle and yet complaining about the smallest discrepancy with their pre-show snacks. Much the comedy of the film comes from the obliviousness of the leads, particularly Tufnel; this nonchalant idiocy is well performed.
The film is relatively convincing as a documentary, this is partly because of filming style where actors mostly improvised their lines and recorded hours upon hours of extra footage. This is fairly evident in the DVD version in the library catalogue which has two bonus discs including over an hour of outtakes. The film follows the band from gig to gig, but there is also a brief narrative following the tensions caused by Hubbins’ wife Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick); it’s all very Beatles/Yoko Ono. It’s a simple conflict but drives the narrative and the satire well.
A great effort has gone into the performances of the band. The music is very reminiscent of the 1980s rock scene and is, at times, of high quality. Pay special focus to the lyrics, however, which are brilliant satire of the songs of the time. Perhaps I am bias as I play bass, but I think a clever highlight is ‘Big Bottom’, beyond some childish lyrics, it’s a brilliant piece of music where the band all swap guitars for basses. Accompanying the music are Spinal Tap’s flamboyant stage shows, most comically where the band are ‘hatched’ from space pod/eggs. The songs and shows act a bizarre and hilarious interludes to the mockumentary narrative.
Musicians have responded to the film in various ways. Like Spinal Tap, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant also have stories of getting lost backstage. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl both praised the film, whilst Metallica’s have acknowledged the similarities between Spinal Tap’s cover art and the art for Metallica’s ‘black album’ – interestingly, members of Spinal Tap appeared in a documentary about Metallica, A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica (1992), quizzing the band on the issue. Contrastingly, for others such a Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and U2’s The Edge the comedy of the film was to close to home to be funny – which I feel expresses how bizarre the music industry can be in reality.
For any music lovers out there, you really should check out This is Spinal Tap.
Why it’s Significant?
A standout example of satire with a cult following, This is Spinal Tap has been entered into the National Film Registry for preservation. The band Spinal Tap has gone on to perform at Wembley Stadium at the Live Earth Concert and again in 2009 following a performance of Glastonbury. The film was also Rob Reiner’s first as a director.
If You Like This, You May Also Like From the Library:
When Harry Met Sally…, dir. by Rob Reiner (Columbia Pictures, 1989) – The iconic romantic comedy is as funny as it is clever. Featuring the famous ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ scene, the film is arguably Reiner’s best work, and shows a good variation in his films. (791.4372 WHE).
Zelig, dir. by Woody Allen (Orion Pictures, 1983) – Another classic Mockumentary, the narrative is interwoven with archival footage showing Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen) changing his personality to fit-in with society. The film holds a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. (79.4372 ZEL).
Written by Phil Wintle
