This Is Spinal Tap has definitely earned the title of a "classic." This outrageously funny movie was not at all like getting your teeth pulled. Not only did the movie perfectly imitate the stereotypical British rock group, but it also went a step further and imitated the documentaries that the bands are so often shown on. This is Spinal Tap has a variety of things going for it, three of them being: stereotypes, comic relief, and a geniuses for writers.
Spinal Tap being the name of the British rock group that is portrayed in this film, is similar to many of the other rock groups you would see documentaries on. They are a little crazy, awesome singers, and they speak with an English accent. But the thing that makes them stand out from the rest of the British bands is the cold hard truth. Spinal Tap is just a second rate band made up of aging members who are desperately trying to hang on to what little fame they used to have.(John Munn-Pop Matters Media) One other thing this movie points out, is there are two stories told in the film: the story of what the rock band Spinal Tap thinks, hopes, believes or fears is happening; and the story of what is actually happening.(Roger Ebert-Chicago Sun-Times) After the movie points out these subtle changes to the audience it then starts to focus immediately on the laugh factor. .
Saying this movie is funny does not do it justice. Funny is somebody falling off a bike getting slightly hurt. However, there is a lot of thought that goes into each clever and hilarious shot in this film. Everything from the songs they sing such as Sex Farm, Big Bottom, and Hell hole to the solid black album cover which will keep you laughing the entire time. The biggest laugh in the second half of the film is assembled lovingly, over time, out of many small elements. It involves an assignment to set designer Polly Deutsch (Anjelica Huston) to build a replica of one of the elements of Stonehenge, which will descend onto the stage during a big production number.
