A true masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2004)

A recent rewatching of one of my favorite films, "This is Spinal Tap," after several years without seeing it, impressed upon me what a truly remarkable work it is. While the latter-day Christopher Guest mockumentaries are great achievements unto themselves, make no mistake: the granddaddy (guided masterfully by Rob Reiner) is still the undisputed king of this smart, quirky brand of humor.
Michael McKean and Guest are so tremendously sharp, so subtle yet so larger-than-life as the quintessential John-Paul/Mick-Keith duo of David and Nigel that the film COULD float along on their energy and tension alone. But this film has performance to burn--with Harry Shearer's dorky bassist Derek, Tony Hendra's pugnacious and believable manager Ian (the great forgotten performance of this film--you'd be surprised how many of the memorable moments revolve around Ian), June Chadwick's unspeakably pretentious Yoko-girlfriend Jeanine, and, of course, Reiner as supreme lamo documentarian Marti DiBergi.
This isn't even to mention a series of inspired cameos by Billy Crystal, Paul Shaeffer, and Fran Drescher, among others (look for more of all of them in the extensive deleted scenes, which are a real joy unto themselves).
Then there's the music. Tap improbably spans the generations, from early Beatles/Stones Buddy Holly tribute rock to hippy-dippy psychedelia to adolescent sex metal (in a sense, the decline of Tap is the decline of rock 'n' roll itself). The songs and musicianship are so stunningly good (even when corny, it's all so extraordinarily well done), which is an excellent example of what makes this film truly great: it recognizes that parody is no excuse for laziness.
Hence the high standards of musicianship. Hence the cleverly crafted songs that you almost expect to hear when you turn on the radio. Hence the razor-sharp performances and unforgettable characters and relationships. Hence the compelling story, which is at more than one point sadder than it is funny.
As it always does, "Spinal Tap" faded to black (a kind of pastel black) the other night after a blazingly quick and tight 82 minutes. My friend, who had never seen it before, was mightily impressed. But not as impressed as yours truly, who was probably watching it for the 12th or 13th time.
It's time to stop calling Spinal Tap one of the greatest comedies of all time, one of the greatest mockumentaries of all time, one of the greatest rock 'n' roll films of all time. The simple fact is, this is one of the greatest movies ever made, period.