One of the funniest comedies ever made. And that's the truth!

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2001)

How many times has this happened to you: You hear and you read endless amounts of praise about an old film which is considered a classic in its genre, and for some reason you've never had a chance to see it, and then when you get round to watching it, even if it's reasonably good, it dissapoints you, because it just can't live up to all those years of hype you've been exposed to.
This has certainly happened to me with lots of films, and, as I went into the cinema to see Spinal Tap for the first time, in its recent UK re-release, I feared it would happen again. For years I had been reading article after article after review invariably claiming this film to be one of the most hilarious ever made, a masterpiece of comedy, and of course I was dying to see it; but I was sure that if I saw it expecting "one of the funniest comedies ever" (and there was no way I could avoid that), it would not measure up, no way, and I would be sadly disappointed... again
The wonderful thing was that I wasn't, not at all: That's how good Spinal Tap is. It took for me a little while to get into the dynamic of it, but when Nigel started having problems with the size of the bread I just began to laugh out loud and I hardly stopped throughout the film, I couldn't help myself. The astounding creativity and wit of the cast and director, coming up with those scenes and those lines most of the time by improvising, never ceases to amaze me. And the characters were instantly lovable and memorable, despite (or, more precisely, because of) their abysmal stupidity. I just couldn't get enough of them, and the film, though it is actually quite short, seemed CRIMINALLY short to me when the credits started rolling.
In a few months I have gone from being a Spinal Tap ignoramus to a die hard fan, and a viewing of the DVD satiated my hunger for more with a glorious extra hour of outtakes which are just as funny as what Reiner (sorry, Di Bergi) left in. How could I live for so many years not having seen it? I just don't know.
So if you still haven't seen it, all I can say is that you really don't know what you're missing. Improve your life: watch Spinal Tap.