Tags
a mighty wind, amazon prime, armadillos in trousers, artie fufkin, banksy, best in show, big bottom, bobbi flekman, choking on vomit, christopher guest, david kaff, david st. hubbins, derek smalls, exit through the gift shop, harry shearer, hell hole, ian faith, lick my love pump, michael mckean, nigel tufnel, sex farm, shit sandwich, smell the glove, spinal tap, spontaneous combustion, stumpy joe, this is spinal tap, tony hendra, viv savage, waiting for guffman
In the spirit of Hoover’s post about Exit Through the Gift Shop from today, I thought I would add to the mockumentary mix.
This is Spinal Tap is the absolute ultimate in mockumentaries and one of the funniest movies ever made. Made by the brain trust behind Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind, This Is Spinal Tap is a cultural signpost in both film and music, skewering both art forms in the best of fun. This Is Spinal Tap follows around fictional band Spinal Tap as they try to regain their once mega-rockstar status as they promote their new album Smell the Glove.
Spinal Tap consists of members Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) – lead guitar, David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) – lead singer/guitar, Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) – bass, Viv Savage (David Kaff) – keyboard and a revolving door of drummers who all seem to die from mysterious circumstances including Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs who died from choking on someone else’s vomit. They are managed by the cricket bat-carrying and inept Ian Faith (Tony Hendra).
This Is Spinal Tap catches the highs and lows and shenanigans of a tour gone completely off the rails as the Tap deal with record company disputes, cancelled shows (Boston’s…not a big college town), band member mutiny and desertion, the spontaneous combustion of their drummer and a dwarf almost crushing the Stonehenge prop onstage.
This film is pure genius. Any musician will tell you that the bulk of what the Tap parody here actually occurs. This is one of the reasons this film endures to this day. You can catch this film on either Netflix streaming or on Amazon, and if you’re a Prime member on Amazon you can watch it for free. Watch as the Tap tears through rock classics like “Sex Farm,” “Big Bottom,” and “Hell Hole.”
Don’t miss the mockumentary that all others are measured by. It is certainly not a shit sandwich. Turn it up to 11!