Incredibly funny: a true comedy classic.

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2013)

Comedic actors Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer show off their fantastic ability to improvise in this dead on parody of rock documentaries. Rob Reiner, making his feature film directing debut, and who co-wrote the script with the stars, plays a documentary filmmaker who decides to chronicle the latest tour of a veteran rock group that has clearly seen much better days.
The movie features a very high amount of gags that actually work, and one can believe that, yeah, crazy stuff like this could very well happen in the world of rock 'n' roll. Among the best are the conceptual drawings of the band ("This is what you'd look like as a crab."), the recreation of a piece of Stonehenge that is nowhere near as large as the band wanted, the amplifier that goes to 11, Nigels' description of a heart warming piece he's composed, and a truly gut busting sequence wherein the cover art for the bands' latest album is discussed.
The three main actors are all wonderful and show a real talent for, and knowledge of, music as well as comedy, which really helps to create a level of believability. Some of their dialogue is truly hilarious. There's a lot of familiar faces in the supporting cast; the cameos are a delight.
As a bonus, the music is really pretty good, and are accompanied by some of the silliest / most brilliant lyrics you'll ever hear.
At 83 minutes in length, this doesn't go on any longer than it has to, and it maintains a superb forward momentum the entire time, coming up with one great laugh after another and remaining fresh and unpredictable.
Highly recommended.
Eight out of 11.