It's decades since I watched the original rock-mockumentary SPINAL TAP, so I can't remember the specifics of any of the jokes bar 'turning it up to eleven", Stonehenge and ill-fated drummers. And since then we've had the tragic murder of Rob Reiner and his wife. I just didn't know how I was going to react to this sequel. I am happy to report that it's just delightful: silly, sweet, sometimes melancholy, with some insane cameos and so many moments where I was guffawing out loud.
The movie opens with our ageing three rockers retired and variously running a cheese shop, a glue shop, and writing muzak for crime podcasts. The daughter of their old bandmate wants to bring them back for a shameless cash-in reunion concert in New Orleans, masterminded by a thinly veiled evil Simon Cowell-Simon Fowler-style impresario played with relish by Chris Addison (The Thick Of It). Along the way we get old beefs rehashed, and the introduction of a new drummer played by Valerie Franco. We get to see Tap interact with evident real-life fan Elton John in an extended and tremendous cameo. It's just a bloody good time - just so well-meaning, so funny and so full of people pretending but actually writing good rock songs and enjoying playing them. In fact, the final 25 minutes is basically just a filmed real Tap concert. Loved every second of it.
God bless Rob Reiner and all who sailed in him.
SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES has a running time of 83 minutes and is rated R. It was released last October.
