Mock-documentaries, aka mockumentaries, began making an impact in Hollywood in the 1960s, withA Hard Day’s Nightand the sketch"The Funniest Joke in the World"fromMonty Python’s Flying Circusbeing examples of note from that time. Recent examples likeBorat Subsequent Moviefilmprove that the mockumentary is still alive and flourishing. But whenRob ReinerreleasedThis Is Spinal Tapin 1984, he raised the bar for the mockumentary genre, and in doing so made it the gold standard for mockumentaries going forward. With therecent announcement ofSpinal Tap IIbeing greenlit, with the original cast, for a March 2024 release, we take a look back at what made the revered original so amazing (and in turn, the legacy the sequel has to live up to).
Overall,This Is Spinal Tapcommits to a rule that all good comedies strive for: the characters are being played seriously. These are not buffoons simply making comedic chaos (yes,Ace Venture: Pet Detective, we are looking at you), but a group of characters that have to react to a comedic situation. The laughs come from the reactions, from the outcomes of seemingly harmless actions. It’s a very fine line to walk, andSpinal Tapdoes it almost flawlessly. Take, for example, when the band gets lost in a confusing backstage setup trying to find the stage. If the characters in the band are complete morons, it isn’t funny because it’s expected. It becomes funny when the band becomes increasingly frustrated at their inability to locate the stage. Another great example is “Stonehenge.” Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) draws out a Stonehenge monolith that they need to have made for their upcoming concert. When the ‘mighty’ object is lowered, the reaction to the 18-inch set piece is priceless, a masterful moment brought about because of a mix-up of the units for feet and inches.
An overlooked facet of the film that doesn’t get enough credit is the fact that the members of the band actually played their own instruments. It adds a level of realism to the stage moments of the film, allowing the camera to capture events naturally, without cutting away to stand-ins or from poor syncing with pre-recorded tracks. It allows the actors to be in the moment, a very minute difference between musician playing to the camera and actor, playing musician, playing to the camera. Additionally, they wrote the songs for the film, adding a level of ownership to the performances. Not just throw away songs either - actual, fully developed songs that could easily find a home in any metal band’s discography (anIron Maidencover of “Big Bottom” would be amazing). They are also pitch-perfect homages to the era being depicted on film, from the British Invasion era “Gimme Some Money” (when they were known asThe Thamesmen), to the psychedelic era “(Listen to The) Flower People,” to the sexist, heavy metal bravado of “Sex Farm.”
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A degree of realism in the film that wasn’t acknowledged until after the film was released is how many real-life musicians and bands saw elements of their own experiences. Artists likeJimmy Page,Dee Snider, andOzzy Osbournehave all confessed to being lost in backstage hallways trying to find the stage. In 1997, the bandU2were stuck inside a large lemon prop, aping the scene where Smalls got stuck inside a pod during a concert.Black Sabbathonce ordered a Stonehenge monolith 15 feet squared, but got one 15 meters squared, unusable as it was now too big to get onstage. Macabre, but true, is how the long line of deceased drummers in the film mirror real life occurrences, from the deaths of drummersKeith MoonandJohn Bonhamto the eerily similar loss of all but two ofThe Grateful Dead’s six keyboard players, either still with the band or shortly after leaving.
The cast of the film is another strength, skillfully portraying their characters and working off one another. This is especially impressive given that much of the film was improvised, forcing in-character reactions to outlandish statements, like the aforementioned recount of the deaths of their drummers - spontaneous human combustion, a bizarre gardening accident, choking on vomit, and choking on someone else’s vomit. Led by Rob Reiner himself as documentarian Martin “Marty” DiBergi, the cast includesMichael McKeanas lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist David St. Hubbins,Harry Sheareras bassist Derek Smalls, Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, and cameos from the likes ofBilly CrystalandFran Drescher. The three lead actors worked so well together, in fact, that Guest would include McKean and Shearer, among others, in a number of definitive, improvisational mockumentaries he directed and acted in, includingWaiting for GuffmanandA Mighty Wind(reuniting all three as a folk-music band).
PerhapsThis Is Spinal Tap’s most enduring legacy is the sheer amount of memorable moments and quotes from the film, with many of those improvisations from the actors, as discussed above. The aftermath of the Stonehenge fiasco, assessed by St. Hubbins: “I think that the problem may have been that there was a Stonehenge monument on stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf.” Nigel Tufnel, on the all-black cover of theSmell The Glovealbum: “It’s like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” The two word review for their albumShark Sandwich: “S**t Sandwich” (Def Leppardwould actually beat that with their albumYeah!, with asingleword review: “No”). However, the most impactful, funniest, and revered moment of the film has to be - and if you’re a fan, you know where this is going -“These go to eleven.“The whole sequence between Tufnel and DiBergi is a touchstone comedic moment, and so impactful that real world sound equipment manufacturers like Sound Image, Soldano and Friedman added knobs that go to eleven on their amplifiers.This Is Spinal Tapis also the only film on IMDb that allows users to rate the film on a scale of one to eleven stars.
Good luck,Spinal Tap II,in trying to match the brilliance ofThis Is Spinal Tap.
