I'm Not Mad, I'm Disappointed: 'Spinal Tap II' Is A Sub-Par Follow Up To A Comedic Masterpiece
It's fun to see the band back together, but the results just weren't there
Even though it was released just over a decade before I was even born, This Is Spinal Tap is without question my favorite movie of all-time.
It’s relentlessly funny, was ahead of its time, and features fantastic music written and performed by the brilliant Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer as David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls, respectively.
So, when I heard that Spinal Tap II: The End Continues was hitting theaters, I was excited to see these iconic characters back on the big screen.
Unfortunately, I had my reservations after seeing the trailer.
Plus, it’s still a comedy sequel, and worse yet, a sequel to an iconic comedy.
The original film, <i>This Is Spinal Tap</i>, is undeniably one of the best comedies of all-time, which is a tough bar to meet. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage)
Comedy Sequels Are Always A Gamble And Usually A Losing One
The batting average for those is well below the Mendoza line.
Caddyshack II, Airplane II: The Sequel, and Christmas Vacation 2 are just a few of the movies that couldn’t hold a candle to their predecessors.
And while I knew Spinal Tap II: The End Continues wasn’t going to be that "lightning in a bottle" movie that the original was, I still left the theater pretty disappointed.
Here are the broad strokes of the premise: the daughter of Spinal Tap’s late manager, Ian Faith, finds a contract that says they still have to play one final show, so they reunite to do this in New Orleans.
That’s about it, and it’s explained to you in the first three to five minutes by the film’s director, Rob Reiner, who also plays the fictional director Marty DiBergi (who fortunately, managed to abstain from going on any political rants! See? He can do it!).
Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest as David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls, and Nigel Tufnel. (Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
This Felt Like A Spinal Tap Movie In Name Only
The first problem with the movie was the plot itself. While the original was about a band that was on top of the world, fell off, broke up, and then got back together, this one is mostly the band in a rehearsal studio.
That’s pretty limiting in what you can do from a comedic standpoint. The original had countless quotable lines and iconic gags. This one had like two gags that were supposed to be this movie's mini Stonehenge, "These go to eleven," getting lost backstage, or getting stuck in a pod moments that made the original so great, and they simply fell flat.
Given the talent of the cast — all comedy legends — I couldn’t believe how little I laughed. And, as I said, I love the original, and I love everything Spinal Tap has done to this point, as well as the entire Christopher Guest oeuvre.
So, I feel ridiculous — despite being as funny and handsome as I am — to diagnose why my laughter barely exceeded the chuckling threshold during the entire 90 minutes… but I feel I owe it to the people.
One of the hallmarks of the original movie was that some people mistook it for a real documentary. As ridiculous as it was at times, it was still grounded. That’s why it was so funny.
This one? Not so much.
The jokes almost seemed too random. For instance, what does Nigel Tufnel do now that the band has split again? He runs a "Cheese & Guitar" shop and even has a guitar he can keep cheese in!
Why? Because cheese is hilarious, isn’t it?!
*crickets*
Well, you’d better learn to like cheese humor because there’s a lot of it. I've heard less cheese talk from cartoon mice.
Jerry from Tom & Jerry; Pinky from Pinky & The Brain. Mighty Mouse of Mighty Mouse fame.
G'head; pick one.
Shearer, McKean, Guest, and Reiner at the film's premiere. (Photo by Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
The Laughs Did Not Go To Eleven
For me, the jokes just weren't landing. I got some occasional smirks or did that thing where I blew a puff of air out of my nose, but not much more than that.
Why? Well, I think there are a few reasons I'd like to submit for your approval.
First, there's way more Marty DiBergi in this movie, and, in my opinion, Reiner made the mistake of not being more of a straight man. You usually need a straight man to ground the comedy, especially when you're dealing with characters as ridiculous as the members of Spinal Tap.
Reiner nailed that balance in the original — not here.
Also, the improv in the first movie is seamless and made it feel like this was a real band having real conversations. In this movie, it felt more like an improv troop trying to dunk jokes over top of each other. You don't get any of those great moments where the cast is kicking the ball around and strikes gold.
The cameos — including ones from Paul McCartney, Elton John, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood — were fun, but they still felt a little shoehorned in (especially in the case of Brooks and Yearwood).
I was disappointed that the cameos from the original film's cast were so brief they almost felt like afterthoughts. Fran Drescher and Paul Schaefer are in it, but if you bend down to tie your shoe or even sneeze, you might miss it.
The Music Almost Saved It… Almost
While there were tons of things that disappointed me about this movie, one thing that was great was the music. All three of the original cast members famously play their own instruments, and they still play and sound great. In fact, the best part of the film for me was the final fifteen minutes or so, which was them playing a concert (not a spoiler, that's literally the entire point of the movie).
I also liked that they played classics from the original movie as well as some songs from the 1992 album Break Like The Wind, so it was a good mix of tunes from over the years.
Speaking of which, if you want a funnier "sequel" to Spinal Tap, hop on YouTube and watch their 1992 live performance at Royal Albert Hall.
So, should you see this flick? If you're a big Spinal Tap fan like me, sure. It's harmless, but you'll probably leave disappointed, like I was.
If you're not familiar with Spinal Tap or indifferent, wait for it to come out on streaming.
If you fall into that latter camp, what the hell is wrong with you?! Go read as many more OutKick articles as you can and then go watch it. It's one of the greatest comedies ever made.
Thankfully, we'll always have the original to watch, even if the sequel left a lot to be desired.