Seriously funny

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2001)

If you didn't recognize many of the actors, you would be excused for thinking this was a real documentary. The action seems spontaneous and even thought this feature could be described as having reverse dramatic irony (the actors know what's happening but we don't) or elements of a Greek tragedy (the actors know what's going to happen, but can't prevent it), the fact you know its not a real documentary doesn't detract from the movie's charm. The actors treat their roles with utter seriousness - this is not an "Airplane" style spoof of the genre, and as a result, the humour runs the gamut from the sublime (the band members acting genuinely confused about why their mock bondage album cover "Sniff the Glove" might be deemed sexist) to the drop dead funny (midgets dancing around desperately undersized replicas of Stonehenge).
The movie also walks a fine line between the scripted plot and much of the improvised dialogue. We have a group of actors here so skilled in improvisation that its scary how they can't be thrown by the reactions of their fellow actors. However, despite this, the characters are totally consistent and often easy to understand and empathize with.

All in all, instead of having a comedy with funny line or slapstick, we have one that puts the actors in an otherwise tragic situation and uses their own denial about it to draw the humour out. We laugh because we foresee the decline and fall of Spinal Tap, we know the actors know whats coming, but still their characters, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, believe that the iceberg will somehow move out of the way before the ship hits it.