The fictional band Spinal Tap is back … louder, older, and only slightly wiser. The mockumentary that defined a genre has finally spawned a sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Sacred Heart University Professor Steven Michels has this review.
I was thirteen years old when This is Spinal Tap! was released in March of 1984. It wasn't exactly a box office smash, so like many others, I didn't see it till a few years later—on a Betamax tape owned by my friend Nick. (Remember Betamax?) As a member of a basement band, Nick and I – I played bass, along with another guitar player, Sean, - played questionable metal originals along with some covers. We only went through two drummers, Lonnie and then Vince, neither of whom exploded. I don’t know how many dozens of times I’ve seen the movie since then, but it’s continued to entertain and inspire, so much so that my current band is called Go 2 Eleven.
Above all else, the original movie, which is credited with popularizing the “mockumentary” genre, is simply hilarious. Even if you haven’t seen This is Spinal Tap!, you're undoubtedly familiar with some of the dialogue and catch phrases that have gone viral before going viral was even a thing. As wannabe musicians, my friends and I laughed at the group as much as we wanted to be like them. So when I heard in 2022 that a sequel was in the works, I was thrilled and it finally hit theaters last week.
This installment from “England’s loudest band” begins with some exposition from fictional director Marty DiBergi (still wearing his knock-off Navy ball cap and played by real director Rob Reiner) letting us know that after receiving some notoriety from the first film, the band has been on hiatus for the past fifteen years. We also learn that Hope Faith, original manager Ian Small’s daughter, has inherited the band’s contract and with it, the proviso that Tap are required to play one final concert.
Discovering what the members have been up to is one of the best parts of the movie. Nigel Tuffnel—that’s Christopher Guest—runs a combination guitar and cheese shop, where he’ll gladly trade one for the other, depending on the weight. The guitar-cheese motif comes back later with a nice payoff. Michael McKeon’ David St. Hubins is playing in a mariachi band and writing music for a true crime podcast. And Derek Smalls (played by Harry Shearer) runs the New Glue Museum, making us wonder how many other glue museums there might be.
Fran Drescher and Paul Schaeffer very briefly reprise their memorable roles, but in their place, we have Kerry Godliman, as Hope Faith. She gives a solid performance, though her character could have benefited from a little more clarity. There’s also Chris Addison, who plays Simon Howler, the band’s soulless promoter. He purportedly suffers from St. Celia’s Curse, a medical condition that precludes him from even processing music. Name a song: he can’t hum it. As the stand-in for the music industry, we’re not supposed to like him, and we don’t. But that doesn’t stop him from delivering some of the best bits.
Another standout is newcomer Valerie Franco as Didi, the eager but foolhardy drummer, who is given the unenviable spot as Tap’s twelfth drummer, after a trio of luminaries all smartly decline. Didi’s fate at the end of the movie is unclear, but I was rooting for her. Paul McCartney also shows up to help the lads write a song, and, true to form, lets himself be the butt of the joke.
The movie mercifully avoids rehashing too much of the original, preferring instead to try out new gags, most of which work. The age of the band in particular is a recurring source of humor. The relationship between Guest and McKeon’s characters is once again an important subplot, although it packs less of an emotional punch this time and might have been better off without it. The final performance is a rapid montage of Tap favorites. Stonehenge returns… this time with Elton John, and the set is once again an issue, but not because it’s too small.
Overall, the story is not as tight and not everything lands, but I still wanted more. Next up for me will be A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap, the book written by Reiner and Co., which was also just released.
It would be impossible for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues to live up to the original, which, in my opinion, is one of the best comedies ever made. But there are plenty of big laughs, and it’s quite entertaining, even if you’re not already a fan.