Review of This Is Spinal Tap (1984) by Ben L — 14 Jul 2017

I have limited experience with mockumentaries but it seems I enjoy them to some extent, but their dry humor tends to only elicit chuckles from me instead of big laughs. This is Spinal Tap was basically the same. It was definitely funny, and I enjoyed the humor, but my face wasn't exactly hurting from all the laughter. It's written very well, and it manages to poke fun at bands like this while simultaneously feeling strangely authentic.

A huge part of the success of This is Spinal Tap has to be credited to the cast. Michael McKean and Christopher Guest are the leads of the band (and the movie). They have a great report between them. I like watching their slow descent from pride to frustration as the movie progresses. I also love basically every single thing Harry Shearer does as an extra comedic wild-card in the film. I was very impressed with all their fake English accents too.

The music was extremely well-written. There were a few different styles throughout the film, and it all worked. They had some crazy lyrics, and I found some of those moments on stage to be the funniest. The elaborate sets and the problems they had with them was icing on the cake. I kind of felt like This is Spinal Tap might be a movie that would be better watched with a group of people laughing together. I did enjoy it on my own, but I feel like I'm missing a little something that would make me LOVE it.