'This Is Spinal Tap' was released in 1984 to rather indifferent reviews and box office. Penned by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKeen, using a now staple device of improvised comedy (Scenes are outlined with start and end points, with significant beats identified, before the cast then improvise the dialogue within the framework) it became the film which introduced most of us to the phrase ‘mockumentary’. The timing of the film’s release not only coincided with the rock & roll zeitgeist, with ageing 60s bands becoming self-parodying whilst glam-metal was enjoying its ‘first wave’, but it was also distributed during the home video boom, which is where 'This Is Spinal Tap' really found its audience. The antics of these rock and roll buffoons are best enjoyed on repeat viewings, so it naturally gained traction as a cult favourite on VHS where each nuance of dialogue or awkward glance emerged like a magic eye drawing you’ve been staring at again and again.
The film is on offer as part of Home’s ‘At Home in the 80s’ season, which also features ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ (Wed 19th Dec), ‘An American Werewolf in London’ (Thu 20th Dec), ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (Sat 22nd Dec) and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ (Sun 23rd Dec). Home have had a good run of seasons and special screenings which feature popular, mainstream classics that we might not have seen on the big screen and long may they continue to do so. The venue is brilliant, with great restaurant and bar facilities, a vibrant theatre calendar and of course, five well equipped cinema screens. To enjoy a cult film, with documentary aesthetics, which found its place in audience’s hearts on the small screen, here at Home is an exciting experience. The cinema screen really brings out the moments, either in capturing someone in the background, or the detail in the band’s performance sequences.
It is often part of the cinema-going experience that BBFC certificate card is used to adjust the projection but here the aged card remained grainy and somewhat blurry. As the company logos played and the MGM lion roared abrasively, it became clear that this was no restoration, but a reassuringly weathered, standard definition projection. This is no criticism of the copy or the screening, it was all the more wonderful to watch a film with the depleted sheen of an aged VHS copy, because it was how many of the large enthusiastic crowd would have first encountered the film.
The self-categorised “Rockumentary” follows the fortunes of Spinal Tap, a famous and successful rock band who are embarking on a tour of America. The film quickly establishes that the band’s status has waned much more than they realise and the tour, which coincides with the album ‘Smell The Glove’, is beset with increasingly ridiculous problems; least of which is how puerile their album title is and their inability to appreciate that the intended cover artwork is offensively sexist. Another problem arises in the contentious arrival of the lead singer’s horoscope-obsessed girlfriend, a brilliantly observed nod to Yoko Ono/Linda McCartney figures in popular music mythos.
'This Is Spinal Tap' bears a heavy burden of its cult status and critical recognition as one of the funniest films of all time, because it is a film which does not rely on big belly laughs or major set pieces, so audiences approaching it for the first time most likely wonder what all the fuss is about. The real pleasure of the film as that upon repeat viewing, each nuance and witty line of dialogue somehow gets funnier and the hit rate for gags is remarkably high. Great moments include getting lost backstage whilst the crowd grow impatient at their own gig, the reveal of an impressive piece of set design being lowered onto the stage and the dismally inappropriate lyrics to the song ‘Sex Farm’ at an army-base social event. But the real joy of Spinal Tap is in the quick-fire utterances of the befuddled band mates, for which no written quotation can do credit. In this screening the audience were kept gleefully chuckling throughout the lean 85 minute running time.
The big screen also offers one more pleasure that home viewing could not. The performances by Guest, McKean and Shearer are excellent. They play these emotionally & intellectually stunted characters with such conviction that when the documentary-style close ups hold on their faces during any of the absurd situations, we see an unflinching refusal in these characters to recognise their own failings or foolishness. We relish in their steadfast pursuit of artistic and intellectual pretentions in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Even the ordinariness of their names; David St Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls offsets their delusions of musical grandeur. The supporting cast are all excellent, with great lines and comical characterisation firing from all directions.
This is Spinal Tap is a comedy classic and sharing the experience with a big crowd in Home was an absolute delight. As Home’s season of 80s classics continues, try to catch your favourite.
Reviewer - Ben Hassouna-Smith
on - 17/12/18
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