This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Dir: Rob Reiner
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This 1984 Rob Reiner film is perhaps the most famous and acclaimed mocumentary ever made. I had heard so many good things about it for such a long time, and I was very excited to finally watch it.
The film is utterly ridiculous, in the best possible way. It features fun and memorable characters, over-the-top jokes and an absurdly humorous take on rock and roll musicians. There are a number of dilly hijinks and jokes that take place, which are as absurd as they are funny.
Reiner features a brilliant mix of both loudly hilarious and subtle comedy which means there are a great mix of jokes from start to finish that don't feel forced or too much. What's even more impressive, is that the comedy is all informed by a legitimately interesting and believable narrative, which gives the film some substance to go with the humour.
I think it's a mocumentary that can be enjoyed as both a fictitious documentary or a "real" one, because it's so well done that, if you didn't know, you might believe it was genuine. And that really is the genius of the film; it feels so realistic. It was reminiscent of documentaries like 'Gimme Shelter', in the way it executed the 'behind the scenes' footage, mixed in with hilariously good 'archival footage'.
The leading trio of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer each bring to life a group of greatly entertaining, silly, yet entirely believable characters that work superbly, thanks to the complete and utter commitment of the men to ramping up the hilarity to eleven.
Director Rob Reiner appears in one of the key supporting roles, and absolutely nails his performance in how he offsets the larger personalities of the story. Meanwhile, June Chadwick proved to be entertaining in her own right, and worked especially well with McKean.
Overall, this was such a fun film to watch, and I can't believe it took me so long to get around to it. It hilariously encapsulates the lives of 80s rock musicians, while adding a whole load of bizarre and funny moments to keep even a casual movie-goer more than entertained.
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