Talented on stage; crazy off stage

Rating: Null/10 (4 February 2017)

Filmed in documentary style, this fiction film chronicles the ups and downs on a rock band on tour with a penchant for outrageousness. The songs are highly memorable throughout (especially 'Big Bottom' and 'Stonehenge') and kooky touches include a party in which all the waiters are mimes and, of course, the amplifier that goes up to 11. This is not, however, the easiest film to get through. Innovative as Rob Reiner's choice to shoot the film as a mockumentary no doubt is, the content soon grows repetitive with the band members saying one dumb thing after another, whether it be professing that spontaneous combustion in humans exists or stating that the insides of a human body look green and blue. Much better dark humour comes in the form of a running gag in which it is gradually revealed that dozens of drummers in the band have died in mysterious circumstances over the years, with the band's current drummer claiming that "the law of averages" should keep him safe (!) - and yet, the focus here is always on the ridiculous things the band members say and the misfortunes they experience along the way. Along such lines, the film pokes sharply at the notion that talent and intelligence are not always aligned in life, but whether this dynamic is enough to sustain the film is debatable. Certainly, the film has a hardy fan-base with some regarding it as one of the funniest films ever made, and as it is often said, comedy is the most subjective genre out there. This is a worthwhile movie, but probably best appreciated by those keenly interested in rock music.