This Is Spinal Tap (1984) ****1/2

Spinal Tap followed the same path as all of those other British wave bands, starting out as happy disciples of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones only to end up in the 1970's and 1980's a devilish metal gods. They have gone over that hill, fighting for a spot on the charts and a slot on the shelves at K Mart.

Rob Reiner directs this film parody of other rock band documentaries, namely The Last Waltz and the now obscure Let It Be. The film stars Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer as the core members of Spinal Tap, hamming their way through their Smell The Glove Tour of the United States. They're not as big as they used to be as their venues get smaller and smaller after failures galore. It's the last dance so to speak.

What's great about This Is Spinal Tap is the fact that it's not as far out as you would think, especially looking at todays music scene. Today the parody is now reality. Reiner directs the film in guerrilla style just like a docu film crew lending to the credibility of the film and making people stand in line for imaginary Spinal Tap tickets. The three leads fall into their roles, talking idiotic pretentious talk that we have to wrap around our heads to make sense. That's what rock stars do- make their work seem bigger and more important than it appears.

This Is Spinal Tap is the greatest rockumentary ever made, even though it's a parody of the genre. You can sit there laughing at the eccentricities of the characters, but if you've seen other real films of this vein you'll realize that most of it is not as absurd as it seems. But that's rock n' roll.