This Is Spinal Tap

It suddenly dawned on me that my consumption of comedic movies throughout the holiday might be too excessive for my own well-being. So I decided to treat myself one final session of laughter before carrying on with new things (which still remain vague up to this point). Who knew I ended up watching the funniest movie I have ever seen and arguably one of all time? So, without further ado, I present to you… “This Is Spinal Tap”.


I had come across this 1984 title on several occasions previously, mostly in the abundance of Top Ten Lists on the internet. I never bothered to give it a shot though since my attention typically tends to be captured by contemporary mainstream offerings, those produced in the late 90’s upwards to recent years. I had watched a considerable amount of Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Jack Black and suchlike but although these Hollywood funny bones do have their share of hysterical gems, I was certain that there must have been funnier people on the big screen history. So I settled on selecting a comedy from the earlier decades and I picked this one. This particular movie convinced me that I was right. There ARE funnier, way funnier people and scripts and this one here might as well be the perfect embodiment of comedy at its best.

“This Is Spinal Tap” is a mockumentary that documents a certain period of the career of Spinal Tap, a fictional British rock band. It features interviews, live performances and “real-life” dramas akin to the nature of reality shows that almost anyone can star in nowadays. Almost every element of the film has something to tickle the audience, except, perhaps, the pleasantly light play on emotions when it approaches the ending. The charm that it maintains through the runtime of 1 hour and 20 minutes mainly occurs in the fact that everything is depicted in moderation. Nothing over the top, and surely no slapsticks or unhygienic jokes being shoved in our faces to force the viewers to laugh. The characters are placed in realistic situations with subtle humorous twists and they also appear genuinely serious when those funny bits leap out of their mouths. The jokes are always there but only if you anticipate it. Get a bit distracted and you might miss an unforgettably amusing moment which millions of others have enjoyed and felt great about. That's a serious loss. I’m glad I managed to catch most of the punchlines and immediately feel that the world is suddenly a better place. But still, I’m sure there must be others that I overlooked. Which prompts me to watch it again and again. Yeah, three times already in just three days. And still counting.

So, let me end this with an interview scene at the very end of the film credits…

Q: What would you do if you don’t play rock and roll?
A: Well, I suppose I could work in a shop of some kind or do a freelance selling of some sort of products.
Q: A salesman?
A: Yeah, like “What size do you wear sir?”. And you answer me.
Q: Hmm, seven and a quarter.
A: “I think we have that”. Something like that.
Q: So, do you think you’d be happy…
A: (Interrupt) “Oh, we’re all out. Do you wear black?”. See, that’s a sort of thing I probably could master up.
Q: So, do you think you’d be happy doing that?
A: (After a reflective expression). I don’t know... What are the hours?

In conclusion, go watch this movie or else! Additionally, we can observe that I’m a terrible movie reviewer.

Warm regards,
Hisyam.