Fred’s Top 50 Films: 36.This is Spinal Tap (1984)

Rock out in This is Spinal Tap

“We're very lucky in the band in that we have two visionaries, David and Nigel, they're like poets, like Shelley and Byron. They're two distinct types of visionaries, it's like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.”

-Derek Smalls

Rock and roll is a curious thing isn’t it? Who would have thought when Spinal Tap was released in the mid 1980’s that it was the film that would best capture the culture and lifestyle of rock and roll. Not only that but This is Spinal Tap would go on to create as subset genre the mocumentary. Not only that but This is Spinal Tap is one of the select few 1980’s comedies that is even funnier upon rewatchings as it is on its initial pop.

There are so many memorial gags in This is Spinal Tap it’s amazing. From the classic it goes to 11 moment, to the old sixties imitation bands that the band used to be before Spinal Tap, to Stonehenge the film is jammed full of laughs. The best part about the gags in the film is that none of them feel forced. Yes some are more broad and obvious then others but there is a really great sense of subtlety that is present throughout most of the film. Most of the gags are so funny because they feel true, like they would happen in real life. Take the “Black Album” gag for example, one can see (and have seen since) the idea of the album as a viable real world idea and thus the joke is much finnier than it would be if it was played over the top.

The other great thing about This is Spinal Tap is that it does an incredibly great job of looking like an actual documentary. It feels as if the at times ridiculous laugh out loud moments feel perfectly in tune with the actual ridiculousness of the world of rock and roll. The result makes for a film that never feels like it’s mining for jokes nor that it cheats at any moment. Each joke feels organic and pure which makes the film even funnier and more enjoyable.

From drummers exploding to Stonehenge This is Spinal Tap is one of the greatest comedies of all time. It’s a laugh a minute pure joy ride that is even funnier today than it was back in the mid 1980s. Plus it’s one of the few comedies from the 1980s to hold up well, and that alone is worth a lot of celebration.

-Frederick Cholowski

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