BrettHarrison's Review

Summary - Really Great 4.5

If I was teaching a college class in parodies, I would make this hilarious movie required viewing.

Rob Reiner’s 1st movie as a director, it is a “mockumentary” about the fictional British hard rock group Spinal Tap.

It manages to be a great parody of not only pompous rock documentaries that take their subjects way too seriously but also of British hard rock groups at the time. There is not one false note(pun intended) in the whole movie.

If I can pinpoint what makes this movie work is that you get the sense that Reiner and the other writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer have a genuine love for the music. How many times have we scene spoofs of rock music that fail because there is a disdain for the subject. Such is not the case here.

Acting - Perfect 5.0

The three guys playing “The Tap” really nail it but the supporting cast is quite excellent. Watch for Billy Crystal as a supervising mime waiter, “Mime is money!”

Film - Really Great 4.5

The film really looks like a rock documentary and the music sounds like they are a real band, even though on repeated listening I’ve wondered if a real Spinal Tap could have gotten past the remainder bins. Doesn’t really matter as once you buy the premise you buy the movie.

Edge - Risqué 1.9

Pretty tame for now but at the time some of the off color humor did offend some people.

Reality - Natural 1.0

2 Comments

• BrettHarrison Mar 19, 2013 9:08PM

  Regarding BrettHarrison’s Review
  Way to combine genuine compliment and movie reference.

• Wick Mar 18, 2013 8:54PM

  Regarding BrettHarrison’s Review
  “What makes this movie work is that the writers have a genuine love for the music”. Exactly. A comment that goes to 11!

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