Johnny Showtime: THIS IS SPINAL TAP

 by JB

What do you say about a 40-year-old comedy that has become iconic?

Like perennial comic favorites Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Ghostbusters, This is Spinal Tap has become a basic cable staple, physical media cash cow in multiple iterations, and cultural touchstone. Adding “mockumentary" and “This goes to 11” to our cultural vocabulary, the film has secured its place in our hearts, as well as a place in Congress’s National Film Registry.

But does it hold up?

That’s the question I asked myself as I attended a Fathom Events screening last Saturday afternoon. Would the film still play for a modern audience? Would there be young people in the audience? Would they appreciate the film?

The film holds up; it played beautifully to the audience I saw it with. This is Spinal Tap may be one of the funniest films ever made. There weren’t any young people in my audience, so I do not know if younger people would enjoy the film. I'd estimate the average age in my theater was 53.

It’s a shame that so many members of my audience came late. (I’m guessing they are accustomed to the 30 minutes of commercials and trailers this theater usually plays before the feature, but this screening was a Fathom Event, which always feature fewer commercials and trailers.) Late-comers missed director Rob Reiner’s introduction, including his request that audience members stay in their seats after the screening for a special sneak preview of the sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which is being released to theaters in September. Because they missed the intro, they walked out before the preview. Boo.

THE PLOT IN BRIEF: Commercial filmmaker Marti DiBergi (Rob Reiner) recalls a night in the late 1960s when he saw English rock and roll band Spinal Tap at a New York club. The band makes such a big impression on him that, when he discovers years later that the band is about to release a new album, he decides to chronicle the subsequent tour with his own “rockumentary.”

The band's core members are Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). DiBergi and his film crew follow Tap from New York to Philadelphia and beyond, and things slowly begin to go wrong: concerts are cancelled by promoters, their record label will not allow them to release their new album because of its controversial cover, and St. Hubbins’s girlfriend Jeanine (June Chadwick) joins the tour, causing all sorts of additional stress. Can Spinal Tap finish the tour... and stay together?

It's important here to note that, although many of the actors were reasonably well-known when the film was first released, many people thought This is Spinal Tap was a real documentary about a real band... a real bad band.

An additional end credits blurb tells us that we've just seen a new restoration of the film, supervised by director Rob Reiner, that will be the basis for the Criterion Collection 4K disc release in September. We are also told the soundtrack was remastered in Dubley.

I am very familiar with This is Spinal Tap and I noticed the following in the new print: 1) the subtitles identifying characters and places are now clearer, surrounded by a faint orange glow that makes them pop; an infamous early DVD release was missing these subtitles entirely; 2) the songs sound better and it is much easier to make out the lyrics, which is terrific because the lyrics of “Big Bottom,” Stonehenge,” and “Sex Farm” are hilarious; and 3) the impressive roster of supporting performances makes this film a party for viewers who love character actors. Look for Ed Begley, Jr; Fred Willard; Dana Carvey; Billy Crystal; Fran Drescher; Bruno Kirby; Paul Schaeffer; Brinke Stevens; Patrick Macnee; Paul Benedict; Howard Hesseman; Joyce Hyser; Archie Hahn; and Anjelica Huston.

Let’s also not forget that the film was not even scripted. Outlined, perhaps, but most of what we see in the film is being improvised by the actors as they perform. It’s really remarkable, given the number of funny punchlines. Like Airplane, the film is PACKED with jokes. Of course, the film benefits from judicious editing: The filmmakers shot more than 100 hours of film, but its official running time is 82 minutes. Three editors are credited with whittling down this mountain of footage.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE: Because this Fathom Event is intended to herald the September release of the film’s sequel, it’s playing for more days than most other Fathom Events. If you are reading this on Tuesday morning, AS YOU SHOULD, you have three more chances to see this little gem in an honest-to-goodness movie theater: tonight, Wednesday night, and Thursday night. Consult your local theaters for showtimes. I’m surprised that some enterprising theaters are not scheduling showtimes... at 11.

Rock and roll!