This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

This Is Spinal Tap

• By the time this was over, I was very disappointed that Spinal Tap isn’t a real bad. Not that their music is really my style, because I’m not a big rock guy, but man, I love this inside look on a totally fictional band. The film is literally exactly what you think it is, which is what makes it so great. You can just kick back and enjoy it, and not have to look too deep into it. It’s hard to beat a classic mockumentary style, and this one might take the cake for most influential and widely known. At least in film. There’s not much to describe about the story, other than it’s hilarious and super simple. Just kind of a “day in the life of” format, and that’s all you need. The rest is left to Rob Reiner and the boys, all of whom improvised most of the dialogue, which is very clearly evident because of the random off-the-cuff remarks and natural reactions. I’m glad that’s the way it was. Anything structured still would’ve been good, but letting these guys just throw stuff out there cements this into comedic film history. The music also stands out, and I was very impressed to learn that the actors actually played and composed their own songs, which makes this even more authentic and real. And that’s all there is to it. It’s simple and raw, and absolutely hilarious and spontaneous and a great piece of work. I would recommend it to all comedy fans. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!