Absolutely hilarious!

If you've ever been in a band, this movie resonates with you.

I totally concur with the Critics Consensus!

I know everyone loved this movie, but I didn't get even one laugh from it.

Almost as good as "Almost Famous", but more slapstick.

Introducing This is Spinal Tap, Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) explains that he "jumped at the chance to make the documentary – the, if you will, "rockumentary" – that you're about to see". In fact the right word for the film is ‘mockumentary', a word first used in the 60s, but popularised by Reiner (who also directed This is Spinal Tap) when talking about this movie. Marti does not use the word in the movie as we are given the illusion that this is a real documentary in which the characters do not realise they are being sent up. The film's use of shaky camerawork, interviews, and footage of the band on tour adds to the mock-realism of this spoof documentary which makes fun of the reverential manner of many rock documentaries. Indeed the details that the movie included were so close to home that many rock bands have said that they had similar experiences on tour or deciding record covers. Some people thought that the documentary was about a real rock band. Such is the influence of the movie that rock bands who engage in foolish excesses are now frequently compared to Spinal Tap. Spinal Tap popularised this particular sub-genre of comedy and spawned many imitations. Sad to say its influence on comedies has been mostly negative. There have been a few good spoofs and mockumentaries, but there have been many forgettable ones. This is because the imitators forgot the golden rule of comedy – that what really matters is the quality of the jokes. Mockumentaries are lazy if the writers imagine that the mere fact that they are making movies in this genre is hilarious in itself. The humour lies in the incidental details as much as the technique of moviemaking. In terms of Spinal Tap, the key to making a good mockumentary is editing. If you wish to capture the spontaneous style where actors adlib their way through agreed situations, then it must be remembered that most improvisation is dull. The judicious moviemaker selects only the more inspired moments for the film. Dozens of hours of footage were recorded for This is Spinal Tap, but wisely the makers allowed only an hour and twenty minutes of this to make the final cut. As the group changes its style over the years, this allows Rob Reiner to offer a humorous pastiche of a number of musical genres. In the early 60s the band members perform ‘Give Me Some Money' with the perky but nonsensical lyrics of the time. An absurd flower power phase follows (‘Listen to What the Flower People Say'). Standard rock songs follow, with preposterous stage antics – posturing, show-off guitar solos, wiggling their bums and groins - and juvenile lyrics to songs with titles like ‘Big Bottom' or ‘Sex Farm'. There is also a foray into progressive rock, as the band dabbles in the kind of pretentious but unintelligent music that prog rockers churned out in the 70s. This includes lyrics with daft religious allusions, guitar renditions of Boccherini, solos where a violin is rubbed against a guitar and a Bach-influenced piano work that Nigel has tastefully named ‘Lick My Love Pump'. The live acts of Spinal Tap offer a parody of the gimmicky props that appear at concerts, but with Spinal Tap these have a habit of going wrong. Backstage men are on hand to dutifully lift Nigel off the floor when he cannot rise to his feet during a solo, or to hammer on a pod that fails to open, leaving Derek Smalls trapped for all but the last few seconds of a song. Most notorious is the embarrassing live version of Stonehenge. Nigel asks for a model of the famous monument, but unfortunately his confused measurements lead to an 18-inch megalith being lowered on the stage, much to his disgust: "…there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf," he complains. The most famous scene in the movie is when Nigel Tufnel shows Marty DiBergi his musical equipment. Nigel shows Marti an amplifier where the volume goes up to 11, which Nigel insists makes it louder than the usual amplifiers. This is Spinal Tap certainly spends a lot of time making fun of the foolishness and excesses of rock bands, but is it a satire? The short answer is yes. The film mocks the pretentions of third-rate rock stars, and exposes the gulf between their self-image and the harsh insights of the real world that keep peeping in. The long answer is yes, but with reservations. There are two kinds of satire, which I will call hard satire and soft satire. Hard satire is the kind that is based on outrage and anger. It works best when it is used to expose the weakness, mismanagement or corruption of people in high places, since its purpose is to defend the weak against the strong. This is Spinal Tap is soft satire. It is not written out of anger against rock bands or to offer a blistering assault on their foibles, because nobody really feels that pop stars are deserving of merciless full frontal attack. They are not authority figures whose misbehaviour poses a threat to us. The worst that can be said of groups like Spinal Tap is that they are foolish, rather than evil. What we have instead is soft satire, one that mocks its subjects but has a sneaking affection for them. All of the lead actors were themselves musical, and performed their own songs. This may explain why many of the songs are catchy and enjoyable to listen to. Rob Reiner et al may find Spinal Tap laughable, but they also feel a gentle identification with the victims of their satire. I wrote a longer appreciation of This is Spinal Tap on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/01/14/this-is-spinal-tap-1984/

Do you know the difference between this movie and every other comedy? This one goes to 11.

Viewing This is Spinal Tap turned out to be a very pleasant and unexpectedly good time! I'm neither a fan of heavy metal music, nor of the mockumentary genre of films. Yet despite that, director Robert Reiner was able to deftly marry the two and provide me with 82 minutes of unexpected laughter and levity. This is Spinal Tap was released in 1984 and is often cited as being one of the best made mockumentary films. For this reason, it was included in my 2023 film journey. In his directorial debut, Reiner presents the story of a fake British heavy metal band called Spinal Tap. Reiner plays Marty DiBergi, a documentary film maker who is following the band on their American tour. The tour is meant to promote the bands new album, "Smell the Glove." Spinal Tap has only ever had one minor hit, but they imagine themselves to be in the pantheon of great metal bands. They believe their U.S. tour to be their ticket to finding new fame and glory. Sadly, the members of the band are too inept to get out of their own way, and they continue to spiral into further embarrassment and infighting. The primary members of the band are played by Michael McKeon, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. These three are masters of improv, and because of their superlative performances, this movie never experiences the awkwardness that can often be present in mockumentary style films. The outrageous antics of the band members are accentuated by a plethora of cameo performances by celebrities and up and coming stars such as Dana Carvey, Angelica Houston, Fran Drescher, Paul Benedict, Patrick Macnee, Billy Crystal, Howard Hesseman, Charles Levin, and Paul Schaffer. I should mention that the band actually consists of four members, but Spinal Tap's drummer position needs to constantly be refilled due to a myriad of bizarre deaths including spontaneous human combustion (two times!), or gardening accidents, or somehow choking on someone else's vomit! As of the time of the documentary, the band has had 18 different drummers! This film is witty, wry, extremely well edited and acted, and most of all… funny. It's really, really funny… even for folk who don't particularly care for heavy metal music or mockumentary style films!

A "mockumentary" of a metal band on the downside of their career. One of the most influential comedies of all time. It nails the shallowness of the music business with such sharp observance it almost feels "real." I've seen it over 50 times and laugh every viewing. Crazy talented people in top form.

A brilliant satire on self-important heavy metal rock bands and in general of rock musicians who take themselves too seriously. Some great comic lines that are repeated to this day by fans of the movie (and who isn't?) Rob Reiner, as usual, does a great job, and the rest of the cast is just brilliant. I saw it in a theater when it was first released and I'm watching it again tonight. This is probably my third time.

A permanent movie in my collection. Absurdly funny. Some of the raunchiness of the songs lyrics had me in tears. Excellent acting dynamics between the band members. Great chemistry between each of the characters.

One of the greatest comedy's of all time. Original, hilarious and to this day still the standard to which all mockumentaries are judged by.

This is to hard rock what Galaxy Quest is to trekkies - a hilarious love letter.

It's not as good as Best in Show imo but it's pretty great. It almost felt too real to be funny at times. I really thought it was about a real band for an embarrassingly long time.

15 anos depois, finalmente assisti a esse filme. E´engraçado em várias partes, mas não entendi a badalação em cima. Deve não ter envelhecido bem...

Mildly amusing mockumentary that satirizes Heavy Metal's turbulent journey in the corporate world of the music industry.

15 anos depois, finalmente assisti a esse filme. E´engraçado em várias partes, mas não entendi a badalação em cima. Deve não ter envelhecido bem...

5 Stars for the greatest, most uniquely real gut- punchingly funny parody of the music business ever. The fact that so many huge rock stars love & watch it obsessively, many of them convinced it's written about them is a tribute to it's amazing blend of fiction & real events. The characters, the actors & the writing make Spinal Tap one of greatest comedies ever. A must watch, your life will be better for the experience.

A classic. Score: 11/10.

This comedy -mocku- rockumentary is one of my all-time faves. Not only is it brilliantly written (and improvised), this 1984 release stands the test of time. And amazingly, as many times as i've watched this movie, the side- splitting goofery of this great cast NEVER gets old. Each watch reveals new and slyly subtle riffs. Comedy Platinum!