Rob Reiner directed this movie. He also directed the Princess Bride. That movie also starred Christopher Guest (who plays Nigel Tufnel) as Count Rugen - the villain with six fingers on his right hand. Which means his fingers go up to eleven.
When Freddie Mercury died, Queen put on a tribute concert. Spinal Tap was on the bill and played Majesty of Rock. Huge applause.They played and sang live doing an amazing job, and stayed in character. It's on UA-cam 😊
Cameo alert: the Stonehenge prop lady is Anjelica Huston. EDIT-- You have to watch "A Mighty Wind!" The three main Spinal Tap guys would open their Spinal Tap concerts as a 60s folk trio called the Folksmen. That movie is a mockumentary about a folk music TV special that reunites three acts from the 60s in a tribute concert for the guy that discovered them. It also features Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey. It's damn near as good as Spinal Tap.
Fun fact: The Director of this movie, who is also playing the director of the mockumemtary, is Rob Reiner. His father, Carl Reiner, played Saul in the Oceans movies.
There's also basically an entire extra movie's worth of deleted scenes on the DVD. Most of the movie was improvised, so they had a lot of unused material.
This was the beginning of director Rob Reiner's incredible 10-year run of terrific films. He followed this was the charming teen romantic comedy "The Sure Thing" with John Cusack and then "The Princess Bride," the great Billy Crystal/Meg Ryan rom-com "When Harry Met Sally,' the Kathy Bates thriller "Misery," the Cruise/Nicholson drama "A Few Good Men" and the Michael Douglas rom/com/drama "The American President." Christopher Guest (Nigel) carried on the mockumentary format after this and made a number of very fine films in a similar vein over the next 20 years or so, directing and co-starring in them. The same group of three was reunited as a popular folk-singing group in the excellent Guest mockumentary "A Mighty Wind" (2003).
"You can't really dust... for vomit..." 😅 The ill-fated drummers of Spinal Tap is my favorite running joke in the movie. They set it up early and keep teasing it until it finally pays off 🤣🤣🤣
Haha It's actually 'exaggerating and making fun of' the Grateful Dead, who tragically had a few drummers die on them since their 1966 debut. Almost all the jokes (eg. the sores on their lips) are hilarious 'based on true story' rock star situations.
They wrote all their own songs for the movie, talented and twisted fellows. The 3 actors went on tour in the late 90’s as the band, heard it was a pretty good show.
Back in the DVD era this was a great disc to own because Michael, Christopher, and Harry did a full commentary track in character as the band where they complain that the documentary is misleadingly edited to make it look like the tour was a disaster - for example they insist that there were many concerts where Derek DIDN'T get trapped in the pod on stage.
The bass player is Harry Shearer (Principal Skinner and more on The Simpsons), the guitarist is Christopher Guest (six-fingered man from The Princess Bride and acclaimed director of movies like Best in Show and more) and the lead singer/guitarist is Michael McKean (from so many things it's impossible to count, but in early days he was known for Laverne & Shirley). See if you can spot the many, many cameos from big name stars...
Patrick Macnee - who played Sir Denis Eton-Hogg - was in MANY British and American TV shows. Co-starred with Honor Blackman in the original version of "The Avengers" - and they did a song titled "Kinky Boots" in 1964! He was also in a real music video, Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996). A good guy with a real sense of humor.
What might be my favorite part of this movie is the DVD commentary done by Michael McKean(David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest(Nigel Tufnel) and Harry Shearer(Derek Smalls) in character. For example, Derek explains that the reason why he wrapped the cucumber in tinfoil is he was afraid of it growing/grafting onto his leg. Hilarious!
There are a number of professional musicians over the years that have commented on how relatable this movie is. For example: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Jerry Cantrell, Dee Snider and Ozzy Osbourne all reported that they had gotten lost in confusing arena backstage hallways trying to make their way to the stage. lol
Dave Mustaine used to complain about how they were making fun of rock bands and he didn't think it was funny. This is why he's known as such a fun guy.
I read an interview with Eddie Van Halen who said when he saw the movie in a theater, everybody was laughing and he was there thinking "man all this shit actually happens!"
"SOHO" means South of Houston (pronounced How-stun), Houston is a major east/west street in New York, the area below Houston is called SOHO, lots of art galleries and whatnot.
@@jean-paulaudette9246 Yes, South of Horton. There is also SoDo in Seattle - South of the King Dome, which doesn’t exist anymore, but the area south of the new baseball stadium and the new football stadium is still SoDo. Okay, the new stadiums aren’t really new anymore, but I still remember when they were.
Tribeca - TRIangle BElow CAnal [Street] Dumbo - DOwn Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass LES - Lower East Side (anything E or WS is direction upper or lower side) There's a fun neighborhood on the east near the water in lower Manhattan called Alphabet City, named because those avenues east of 1st Avenue are named A, B, C...
In the case of Christopher Guest, that’s not too surprising. He’s a New Yorker by birth, but also the 5th Baron Haden-Guest (of Saling, Essex) by heritage. That made him a member of the House of Lords, though hereditary members were eventually barred from holding actual seats in it.
"Boston isn't a big college town" - as someone who lived in Boston for awhile, that one always gets me!!! If you want more great mocumentaries, simply watch the later films of Michael McKeen ((David) and Christopher Guest (Nigel). They formed a small repertory group with the likes of Parker Posey and Catherine O'Hara and made a series of quite brilliant mocumentaries, including Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. All are done in much the same style as Spinal Tap. However, as Spinal Tap is one of my favorite movies ever, I have to say that for me personally, they never quite reach the heights of this film. Loved watching you enjoy this film so thoroughly. I first saw it 30 years ago as a 16 year old!!! All us young male teenagers loved it, as I am sure you can imagine!!! Quoting those song lyrics to each other brought hours of laughter!!!!
Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were longtime friends who had worked together in a comedy troupe called The Credibility Gap since the late 1960's. They met Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner (son of Hollywood legend Carl Reiner) in the 70's and at on time worked on a pilot together that wasn't picked up. Shearer, McKean, and Guest were all musicians and played together a lot and created their Spinal Tap characters long before the idea for the movie came along. After the success of Spinal Tap, Guest decided he liked the mockumentary genre and went on to make a series of films in this style (all of which you should watch), starting with Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Mascots. A Mighty Wind reincarnates Spinal Tap as The Folkmen, a group of once popular folk singers, to perform a television concert with other folk legends. McKean is familiar to many as Chuck McGill from the TV series Better Call Saul, older brother of Saul. Shearer also has had a long career, having done several stints as a Saturday Night Live cast member, but is most well known for his work on The Simpsons, where he is the voice of about half the population of Springfield.
The Stonehenge bit...LOL. The first time I saw that, i thought i was going to have an accident. I still cannot keep a straight face, even knowing whats coming. So glad youve now seen that s classic.
I wonder how many people spotted Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal? And who knew who they were too? Totally love this movie, the British accents were so good that I never knew that Michael McKean was American for years. Yes, I am British.
Vacuum tube-based TVs explode when they're broken because they are literally glass vessels with a vacuum inside. They actually implode quite violently, and then the pieces all rebound in an explosion. This is accompanied by some fire from the cathode filament burning in the oxygen that rushes in (it's supposed to be surrounded by a vacuum). Like everything else from the past, TVs getting wrecked was a lot more fun than it is these days. 😁
Apparently Liam Gallagher of Oasis thought they were a REAL band AND English. He went to a reunion show at Carnegie Hall in 2001. His brother Noel pointed out that the members of The Folksman, yeah, they were their own supporting act, were in Spinal Tap. He hasn't watched the movie since. 😂
The funny thing is most of the crowd didn't know either. From what I understand they pretty much booed The Folksmen off the stage but a few minutes later when the guys came back as Spinal Tap the crowd went wild.
This is one of my favourite films. Thankyou do much for doing it. I got to hear some stories from friends who were touring with some big acts in the 80s and this is scarily accurate 😂
As others have said the songs are all originals (written mostly by the cast I believe) and the actors are actually very good musicians playing for real. They’ve actually toured for real as Spinal Tap. This movie had a massive following in the musician community because not only is it a great send-up of what this kind of band was like in that era but the music is genuinely well done and well played.
The whole movie is basically improvised, no actual script. When they were going to studios to try to get funding, they couldn't show studio executives a script or anything and had to explain that they would just create the characters and put them in situations and film the results. That didn't really convince anyone, so in order to show the studios something they had to actually shoot a short section of the film. Most of the executives didn't get it at all. Even after the film was eventually made, a lot of people just didn't get it. People would say "those guys in the movie are so stupid." or "why not make a documentary about a band that people have heard of?"
6 годин тому+5
The actors used to appear on talk shows totally in character. They were so good at it that some people thought they were an real band. They've also done some live performances.
I went to a lot of "midnight movies" and "underground" showings of obscure, cult films when I was at university. This is one of the films shown. When I first saw it, I had no context. I didn't know it wasn't a real documentary about a real band. It was well into the movie before it dawned on me, and that made it all the more brilliant because it COULD have been real.
This movie is a must watch for musicians. So much of what goes on here actually happens. It's kind of scary. LOL A band I was in had the getting lost on the way to the stage moment. When we realized what was happening, we started in with the Spinal Tap quotes. "Hello Cleveland! Rock'n'rol! Here we go!" I also experienced going through many oddball singers like they did drummers. At least none of ours physically blew up...though there were many psychological blow-ups. This is a masterpiece moickumentary. I give it 11/10!
I've been waiting for sooo long 😁 Being in several small bands throughout my life, I'm sure almost everyone who's been in a band, can relate to at least a little bit of this movie 😂😂😂
"Love gun?!" If you aren't aware Jen, KISS actually has a song called Love Gun 😅 For a brief overview of their effect on the pop culture of their time, check out the coming-of-age rock comedy Detroit Rock City
So glad to see you watching this. This movie had been one of my favs since I saw in the theater in high school (yes, I'm dating myself). I have seen the Tap play live 3x now and have the set list from the Milwaukee performance of their Unwigged and Unplugged performance - their final show of that tour. I was also Nigel Tufnel in a Tap cover band in the early 90s. Keep up the great work! You are my favorite reactress. Thank you for being you.
I still think my favorite time I saw Tap was actually at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, where the then-current band (featuring "Rick Shrimpton" -- also played by Ric Parnell, Mick's secret twin brother, and CJ Vanston, who's actually been the keyboardist since). After Bob Geldof (of Live Aid fame), having just sung a song that the MTV feed didn't even show, introduced them as "an act that will put the evening's events into perspective. Too MUCH perspective. Please welcome, the near-legendary, Spinal Tap!" And they came out, magnanimously cut their set short by 35 songs, then... _genuinely_ had a "Spinal Tap moment" because Nigel's amp wasn't up and running. (It's the same lineup today whenever they play except for, obviously, the drummer. Greg Bissonnette has played for them under his real name for about 15 years, and I do believe he was also "Skippy Scuffleton" beforehand. Still not my favorite drummer for Tap, though -- that's Mick Fleetwood for one show. I don't know how they explained he survived.) EDIT -- Also did YT actually make you mute "Fufkin" exactly once? Gotta love it. Maybe Paul Shaffer (of David Letterman's band, the original Blues Brothers band before the movie, and co-writer of the Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men") mispronounced it once, but still...
This is a CLASSIC! So many young reactors overlook or do not understand the brilliance of this. THANK YOU for doing it! PLEASE do "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show"!!!!!
Even when I’m on vacation I’ll always stop what I’m doing to watch one of Jen’s reactions 🔥. Thank you for reacting to this Jen, I had a blast watching it 🔥💙
Don't you just love those camera angles, right by the armadillos honey!!! That's why they run screaming... you would too now wouldn't you??? Lmao 😂😂😂 Love you Jen, you got my heart & the door! ❤Muah❤
Also, I just remembered, if you ever want to see a real-life version of this movie, Canadian band Anvil put out their own documentary The Story of Anvil in 2008, which follows them as they struggle to stay a band while juggling every day responsibilities. There are sequences so ridiculous in there, it makes it both funnier and sadder that it's not a satire.
YES. Jen, thank you! Such an excellent match-up of reactor and movie. To answer your question about the songs, they are done in the style or spirit of various bands and musical movements, but are all original and not direct parodies of any songs that I'm aware of. You should get the album -- it's fantastic! And they were great in concert -- I actually saw them in a big outdoor venue in the mid 90s. These guys made several other mockumentaries, ALL of which are worth seeing. What a great surprise on a Friday night! So much fun.
Hi Jen, I hope you're well. I remember going to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and Spinal Tap were on the bill. They only played one song but it was brilliant. The bassist said they cut their set by thirty something songs "Because Freddie would have wanted it that way." As I say they were brilliant, bringing a little laughter into a very emotional day. Thank you Jen for another greate reaction ❤❤
Before internet and streaming services we used to have movie parties, get drunk and group-watch a roster of films over and over, depending on the mood, and Spinal Tap was always a top favorite. The amount of hilarious quotes alone is brilliance, excellent writing there.
More fun facts: Michael McKean (David) played Mr. Green in “Clue.” Christopher Guest (Nigel) is married to Jamie Lee Curtis. Bass player Derek (Harry Shearer) does the voices of Mr. Burns, Smithers and Ned Flanders on “The Simpsons.”
YES!! I saw this on my feed and my day is now complete! These people also did Best In Show. SoHo is short for "South of Houston St" (pronounced Huston St).
Ah yes, I remember attending a Spinal Tap concert in my youth. I didn't bother wearing hearing protection because their sound is conducted directly into the brain through the skull. They really brought the house down...literally. I thought all of the white powder floating around was cocaine, but it was actually concrete dust, so I really should have known that parts of the arena were going to collapse from the sound pressure. This was in Florida, and NASA actually had to delay one of their rocket launches because their buildings and the rocket itself were damaged by the decibels the band were putting out. Good times. I even got to learn American Sign Language, which I use daily now, thanks to Spinal Tap. 😉
Shearer, Guest, and McKean have done a few tours as Spinal Tap and in some instances opened for themselves in different characters, a folk trio called the Folksmen (much to the chagrin of a few audiences who didn't get the joke). This fictional band joined several others in another of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries called A Mighty Wind.
If you ever work on the road as a touring musician or part of the road crew, this movie hits so close to home that it’s almost scary lol Everything they show in the movie happens pretty much regularly in real life. All you really can do is just laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Oh, heck yes. There's a three hour cut of this which has some scenes with the band's opening act, who was female led. She also had a herpes sore and, well, you can figure out 2+2. One of my favorite quotes with the film was during one of the band's tours when (real life) folks were going to see the band and some of the audience was interviewed as to why they were going to see Spinaltap. The response "Well, they pretend to be a band. We pretend to be their fans."
The Decline of Modern Western Civilization: The Metal Years is a rockunentary about the glam metal scene on the L.A. strip in the 80s. It's very depressing, and raw.
Great reaction, Ms. Murray! I actually went to a Spinal Tap concert in the early 90's. It still ranks as one of my favorite concerts (and I have been to hundreds of shows). They are currently working on a sequel with Rob, Michael, Christopher, and Harry all returning.
Christopher, Harry, and Michael are all playing their own instruments. They played in front of crowds who thought they were watching a "real" band. Which you could argue, after two or three albums, they are.
Fun fact if you look on the wall in the grandsons room in the movie The Princess Bride also directed by Rob Reiner you will see the Hat hanging on the wall that Marty the director is wearing in this movie.
It's not the actual hat but a replica since the original was long gone, but the hat appearing in the movie was a condition Mark Knopfler made in order to do the theme song for Princess Bride
@@DaleKingProfile Ah, okay. I knew it was "the same hat," so to speak and it was an Easter egg, but I didn't realize the Mark Knopfler connection. That's a cool one. Kinda makes sense when you think of it as Mark does have a history of cavets when agreeing to stuff... I do know Mark Knopfler gave Weird Al permission to use "Money for Nothing" and change it to "The Beverly Hillbillies" Themesong for the movie "UHF" and as a rock video.... as long as he got to play the guitar on Al's version... to which Al happily agreed! Not to mention they had Sting come back to do his part of the vocals as well.
Here's a parody I wrote about this movie to the tune of the Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever", entitled "Mine Goes To Eleven": Mine goes to eleven That's my amp, in case you're wond'ring And when Spinal Tap is thund'ring I can crank up a notch Feel that zing in my crotch like lightning Mine goes to eleven, When those decibels are peaking And the audience is freaking I've got something to serve That I keep in reserve, it's frightening I don't hold back For what good to restrain it Keep it down or refrain it And when we're gone The pain goes on Mine goes to eleven Not to five or six or seven Even ten, is not the limit Ten's a mere number which Ain't the ultimate bitch, now innit I don't need drugs Though I rarely refuse them But I don't have to use them To get plugged in The pain begins Mine goes to eleven, eleven, eleven Mine goes to eleven, eleven, eleven Eleven, eleven ua-cam.com/video/P0ciSjthE6M/v-deo.html
Great movie that a lot of the tropes are based on things that have really happened to different bands. When Ozzy saw it, he didn’t understand why people were laughing because he thought it was real. In fact the whole Stonehenge bit actually happened to Black Sabbath when their prop was too big for the stage. The getting lost backstage happened to a 70’s band called Angel, which I really like them. I saw them live and it was a great concert. Filled with mishaps. The music is awesome. This has a ton of cameos. You didn’t notice that the two mimes were Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey. You should check out a real documentary about a metal band that had a big downfall and it’s actually pretty sad. The Story Of Anvil. You may have heard of them, I’m pretty sure they were from Canada. The guitarist Nigel was the doctor witness in A Few Good Men.
In New York, SOHO or just Soho stands for "south of Houston Street". A lot of community/neighborhood names in New York are based on location markers like this. To take another example, Tribeca stands for "triangle below Canal Street". My favorite is Dumbo in Brooklyn, which stands for "down under the Manhattan bridge overpass".
The songs are original and they have an actual Smell the Glove album with all the songs from the movie. It is fantastic. Billy Crystal said "Mime is money." Dana Carvey was the mime he said that to.
The most accurate movie about metal and rock n roll ever made, nothing comes close. Sting told Rob Reiner whenever he watches it he doesn’t know if he’s gonna laugh or cry.
You did hear Billy Crystal's voice. He was the Chief Mime, that used the phrase, "Mime is Money." For another musical mockumentary, with the same guys, you might want to check out "A Mighty Wind". It has the same three primary stars but also adds Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey. Like this film, everyone learned and played their own instruments & sang their own songs.
There is a whole universe of stuff to know about Spinal Tap- It's one of those movies like Star Wars or Alien or Wizard of Oz that can literally become your hobby.
1:33 This is what you get when you combine Saul Goodman’s brother, Mr. Burns, The Princess Bride Six Fingered Man, a progressive rock musician and various drummers to form a band.
Ah, Patrick Macnee (who played Sir Denis)! As a little kid, like 5 years old, I thought he was the coolest actor around, literally playing Satan in _Battlestar Galactica_ (1978), my favorite show at the time (still is one of my favorites today). He also provided the narration for the opening of the show, and the voice of the leader of the evil robots who were trying to destroy mankind. He's so classy! And evil-looking. 😈
This is a fun film, I loved your reaction to it, Jen. This film was partly inspired by a "The Comic Strip Presents: 'Bad News' Tour" from 1982, 'The Comic Strip' was a collection of British alternative comedians who did skits around different subjects, I think that you'd like it, Jen. There's also a similar mockumentary, "A Mighty Wind" 2003 which is about a collection of old Folk Music Groups getting together for an event.
At the actual Stonehenge there's a wall of quotes from literature about Stonehenge -- including the opening lines from the Spinal Tap song, credited to Nigel Tufnel.
This was the start work of a whole genre of film and kinda concept in comedy. Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) is a landed Baron in the UK and member of the house of lords as he is the 5th Baron Haden-Guest. So this makes the Lady Haden-Guest? Jaime Lee Curtis!
Yes, Jen, you did it again! Another great reaction to one of my favorite 3215 movies of all time! 🙂 I don't always comment on your reactions, but I always love it when you react to movies which I have seen (the others must be great too, but I don't want to spoil myself)! Btw. SPINAL TAP was a fictional band for this movie, but they actually played concerts as a "real" band afterwards. The songs are original by the "band".
SOHO was an acronym for "South of Houston" (Manhattan south of Houston Street) which was a former manufacturing area which became inexpensive and artistic as the former warehouses were made into artist's lofts in the 1970's/80's
This is a collection of stories that happened to bands. Like, the airport scene is factual. Bands would call the press and "tip them off" as to what time they would be in the airport. Free publicity. But, there were usually photographers as well. So, for appearance, a certain rock singer would stuff his pants. And he got busted.
Rob Reiner directed this movie. He also directed the Princess Bride. That movie also starred Christopher Guest (who plays Nigel Tufnel) as Count Rugen - the villain with six fingers on his right hand.
Which means his fingers go up to eleven.
He was also Meathead on All in the Family. 😂
And the hat that Rob Reiner is wearing as Marty in this movie is hanging on the grandsons wall in The Princess Bride
He also directed Misery and Stand By Me. Turns out that Meathead is an amazing director.
@@eldonstrackeii7892 That's probably why "he looks familiar" to Jen.
@@RobwLPOC The reason for that is funny, too. Mark Knopfler would only agree to do the score of the Princess Bride if Reiner put the hat in the movie.
When Freddie Mercury died, Queen put on a tribute concert. Spinal Tap was on the bill and played Majesty of Rock. Huge applause.They played and sang live doing an amazing job, and stayed in character. It's on UA-cam 😊
I was at that gig! 😃 Where you there?
@@mr.a8315
It was a very emotional day wasn't it. But they made us laugh.
They also said they were cutting their lengthy set down to three songs. “We think Freddie would have wanted it that way.”
I loved their backstage interaction with Metallica, who were promoting their own "black album" at the time. 😀
Cameo alert: the Stonehenge prop lady is Anjelica Huston.
EDIT-- You have to watch "A Mighty Wind!" The three main Spinal Tap guys would open their Spinal Tap concerts as a 60s folk trio called the Folksmen. That movie is a mockumentary about a folk music TV special that reunites three acts from the 60s in a tribute concert for the guy that discovered them. It also features Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey. It's damn near as good as Spinal Tap.
Best in show is really good too.
Billy Crystal is the mime who says "mime is money".
The actors not only wrote the songs, but they also played their instruments.
And the other mime is Dana Carvey (Garth from Wayne's World)
I want to give your comment a thumbs up, but it is already at 11.
Nigel Tufnel is Christopher Guest, husband to Jamie Lee Curtis.
Also, Spinal Tap II should be released this Summer. This was a timely reaction.
Fun fact: The Director of this movie, who is also playing the director of the mockumemtary, is Rob Reiner. His father, Carl Reiner, played Saul in the Oceans movies.
And Rob is most known for All in the Family
@jessicahhhhhhhh "meathead"....hehe he that was a fun show
And his mum is the 'I'll have what she's having' woman in When Harry Met Sally.
The DVD commentary is equally hilarious. The actors stay in character, as if Spinal Tap we're actually commentating on the movie.
There's also basically an entire extra movie's worth of deleted scenes on the DVD. Most of the movie was improvised, so they had a lot of unused material.
This was the beginning of director Rob Reiner's incredible 10-year run of terrific films. He followed this was the charming teen romantic comedy "The Sure Thing" with John Cusack and then "The Princess Bride," the great Billy Crystal/Meg Ryan rom-com "When Harry Met Sally,' the Kathy Bates thriller "Misery," the Cruise/Nicholson drama "A Few Good Men" and the Michael Douglas rom/com/drama "The American President." Christopher Guest (Nigel) carried on the mockumentary format after this and made a number of very fine films in a similar vein over the next 20 years or so, directing and co-starring in them. The same group of three was reunited as a popular folk-singing group in the excellent Guest mockumentary "A Mighty Wind" (2003).
Best in Show was another good one taking a look inside the eccentric world of dog shows and dog show people. The dogs are normal the people are nuts.
"You can't really dust... for vomit..."
😅
The ill-fated drummers of Spinal Tap is my favorite running joke in the movie. They set it up early and keep teasing it until it finally pays off 🤣🤣🤣
Haha It's actually 'exaggerating and making fun of' the Grateful Dead, who tragically had a few drummers die on them since their 1966 debut. Almost all the jokes (eg. the sores on their lips) are hilarious 'based on true story' rock star situations.
@@RP_Williams Keith Moon, John Bonham too.
The little Stonehenge is one of my favourite moments of comedy
They wrote all their own songs for the movie, talented and twisted fellows. The 3 actors went on tour in the late 90’s as the band, heard it was a pretty good show.
They also had a guest appearance on The Simpsons. I think they were Bart's first concert.
"...this one goes up to 11."
nonchalantly chews gum...
"That's 1 more than 10, now in'it?"
True rock star, Jen!🫵🤩🤘
One of the greatest comedies ever. And most of it was improvisation. Simply brilliant. And the music is awesome too. 🎸
In NYC SOHO stands for 'SOuth of HOuston Street' in lower Manhattan.
Billy Crystal was the one who said 'Mime is Money'
Back in the DVD era this was a great disc to own because Michael, Christopher, and Harry did a full commentary track in character as the band where they complain that the documentary is misleadingly edited to make it look like the tour was a disaster - for example they insist that there were many concerts where Derek DIDN'T get trapped in the pod on stage.
I love that commentary! It’s like a whole other movie to enjoy.
The bass player is Harry Shearer (Principal Skinner and more on The Simpsons), the guitarist is Christopher Guest (six-fingered man from The Princess Bride and acclaimed director of movies like Best in Show and more) and the lead singer/guitarist is Michael McKean (from so many things it's impossible to count, but in early days he was known for Laverne & Shirley). See if you can spot the many, many cameos from big name stars...
Michael McKean was still going strong on Better Call Saul more recently, but Jen would know him best as Mr Green from Clue 😉
Reiner cast Guest as Rugen in Princess Bride because his fingers go to 11.
Patrick Macnee - who played Sir Denis Eton-Hogg - was in MANY British and American TV shows. Co-starred with Honor Blackman in the original version of "The Avengers" - and they did a song titled "Kinky Boots" in 1964! He was also in a real music video, Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996). A good guy with a real sense of humor.
I’m glad you typed all that out so I didn’t have tuh.
Better Call Saul for Mckean. And winning on jeopardy.
Jen is turning it up to 11 😄
What might be my favorite part of this movie is the DVD commentary done by Michael McKean(David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest(Nigel Tufnel) and Harry Shearer(Derek Smalls) in character. For example, Derek explains that the reason why he wrapped the cucumber in tinfoil is he was afraid of it growing/grafting onto his leg. Hilarious!
There are a number of professional musicians over the years that have commented on how relatable this movie is. For example: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Jerry Cantrell, Dee Snider and Ozzy Osbourne all reported that they had gotten lost in confusing arena backstage hallways trying to make their way to the stage. lol
Dave Mustaine used to complain about how they were making fun of rock bands and he didn't think it was funny.
This is why he's known as such a fun guy.
I read an interview with Eddie Van Halen who said when he saw the movie in a theater, everybody was laughing and he was there thinking "man all this shit actually happens!"
Steven Tyler thought it was a direct parody of Aerosmith. So many bands had at least one of these mishaps.
There's also "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman" which are 100% worth watching.
"SOHO" means South of Houston (pronounced How-stun), Houston is a major east/west street in New York, the area below Houston is called SOHO, lots of art galleries and whatnot.
Don't they have a Soho in London, too?
Named for a hunting cry as the area was used for deer hunting before being developed.
@@jean-paulaudette9246 Yes, South of Horton. There is also SoDo in Seattle - South of the King Dome, which doesn’t exist anymore, but the area south of the new baseball stadium and the new football stadium is still SoDo. Okay, the new stadiums aren’t really new anymore, but I still remember when they were.
Tribeca - TRIangle BElow CAnal [Street]
Dumbo - DOwn Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass
LES - Lower East Side (anything E or WS is direction upper or lower side)
There's a fun neighborhood on the east near the water in lower Manhattan called Alphabet City, named because those avenues east of 1st Avenue are named A, B, C...
Why no NO-HO and WE-HO?! I mean there myst be a north and west of Houston!
The best British accents done by Americans. Ever.
In the case of Christopher Guest, that’s not too surprising. He’s a New Yorker by birth, but also the 5th Baron Haden-Guest (of Saling, Essex) by heritage. That made him a member of the House of Lords, though hereditary members were eventually barred from holding actual seats in it.
"Boston isn't a big college town" - as someone who lived in Boston for awhile, that one always gets me!!! If you want more great mocumentaries, simply watch the later films of Michael McKeen ((David) and Christopher Guest (Nigel). They formed a small repertory group with the likes of Parker Posey and Catherine O'Hara and made a series of quite brilliant mocumentaries, including Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. All are done in much the same style as Spinal Tap. However, as Spinal Tap is one of my favorite movies ever, I have to say that for me personally, they never quite reach the heights of this film. Loved watching you enjoy this film so thoroughly. I first saw it 30 years ago as a 16 year old!!! All us young male teenagers loved it, as I am sure you can imagine!!! Quoting those song lyrics to each other brought hours of laughter!!!!
Yeah, that city is no big deal for music. It’s not like anyone would go naming their band after it or anything like that.
Another one that is a must see is: The Rutles. Please!😊
It’s good, as is _A Mighty Wind,_ but I bet Jen’s favorite will be _Best in Show._
I dressed up as Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) one Halloween. I was disappointed at how few people knew who I was.
I would have recognized you!
Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were longtime friends who had worked together in a comedy troupe called The Credibility Gap since the late 1960's. They met Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner (son of Hollywood legend Carl Reiner) in the 70's and at on time worked on a pilot together that wasn't picked up. Shearer, McKean, and Guest were all musicians and played together a lot and created their Spinal Tap characters long before the idea for the movie came along.
After the success of Spinal Tap, Guest decided he liked the mockumentary genre and went on to make a series of films in this style (all of which you should watch), starting with Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and Mascots. A Mighty Wind reincarnates Spinal Tap as The Folkmen, a group of once popular folk singers, to perform a television concert with other folk legends.
McKean is familiar to many as Chuck McGill from the TV series Better Call Saul, older brother of Saul. Shearer also has had a long career, having done several stints as a Saturday Night Live cast member, but is most well known for his work on The Simpsons, where he is the voice of about half the population of Springfield.
The Stonehenge bit...LOL. The first time I saw that, i thought i was going to have an accident. I still cannot keep a straight face, even knowing whats coming. So glad youve now seen that s classic.
I wonder how many people spotted Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal? And who knew who they were too? Totally love this movie, the British accents were so good that I never knew that Michael McKean was American for years. Yes, I am British.
Came to Jens channel for Star Trek but have been enjoying watching her catalogue of reactions.
Yeah, there's a lot there to enjoy.
12:23 Dr. Johnny Fever, Howard Hesseman, from WKRP in Cincinnati!!
BOOGER!!
"None more black" is one of my all time favorite movie quotes. Thanks Jen for a fun reaction!
Vacuum tube-based TVs explode when they're broken because they are literally glass vessels with a vacuum inside. They actually implode quite violently, and then the pieces all rebound in an explosion. This is accompanied by some fire from the cathode filament burning in the oxygen that rushes in (it's supposed to be surrounded by a vacuum). Like everything else from the past, TVs getting wrecked was a lot more fun than it is these days. 😁
Apparently Liam Gallagher of Oasis thought they were a REAL band AND English. He went to a reunion show at Carnegie Hall in 2001. His brother Noel pointed out that the members of The Folksman, yeah, they were their own supporting act, were in Spinal Tap. He hasn't watched the movie since. 😂
The funny thing is most of the crowd didn't know either. From what I understand they pretty much booed The Folksmen off the stage but a few minutes later when the guys came back as Spinal Tap the crowd went wild.
This is one of my favourite films. Thankyou do much for doing it. I got to hear some stories from friends who were touring with some big acts in the 80s and this is scarily accurate 😂
As others have said the songs are all originals (written mostly by the cast I believe) and the actors are actually very good musicians playing for real. They’ve actually toured for real as Spinal Tap.
This movie had a massive following in the musician community because not only is it a great send-up of what this kind of band was like in that era but the music is genuinely well done and well played.
Among the most legendary films ever made.
And loudest…
The whole movie is basically improvised, no actual script. When they were going to studios to try to get funding, they couldn't show studio executives a script or anything and had to explain that they would just create the characters and put them in situations and film the results. That didn't really convince anyone, so in order to show the studios something they had to actually shoot a short section of the film. Most of the executives didn't get it at all. Even after the film was eventually made, a lot of people just didn't get it. People would say "those guys in the movie are so stupid." or "why not make a documentary about a band that people have heard of?"
The actors used to appear on talk shows totally in character. They were so good at it that some people thought they were an real band. They've also done some live performances.
They've recorded albums and played on stage. Sounds like a real band to me. 😊
@@follow_the_money_trail I should have specified their characters they play as members of the band.
Their greatest film is 'Best in Show', about a dog contest. This one is a classic, 11/10.
I went to a lot of "midnight movies" and "underground" showings of obscure, cult films when I was at university. This is one of the films shown. When I first saw it, I had no context. I didn't know it wasn't a real documentary about a real band. It was well into the movie before it dawned on me, and that made it all the more brilliant because it COULD have been real.
This movie is a must watch for musicians. So much of what goes on here actually happens. It's kind of scary. LOL
A band I was in had the getting lost on the way to the stage moment. When we realized what was happening, we started in with the Spinal Tap quotes. "Hello Cleveland! Rock'n'rol! Here we go!"
I also experienced going through many oddball singers like they did drummers. At least none of ours physically blew up...though there were many psychological blow-ups.
This is a masterpiece moickumentary.
I give it 11/10!
Ahhhh Jen is killing it. Seinfeld and Spinal Tap in one week
There is a great cut scene of Derek Small talking about a solo album he wants to release called “It’s a Smalls World”
Christopher Guest was the co-writer (and Nigel) for this movie - his mock-u-mentaries are amazing: Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind
And let's not forget the six fingered man in Princess Bride
So much of the film is ad-libbed. It’s just so massively impressive they could do this without a script
And with excellent British accents.
I've been waiting for sooo long 😁 Being in several small bands throughout my life, I'm sure almost everyone who's been in a band, can relate to at least a little bit of this movie 😂😂😂
"Love gun?!"
If you aren't aware Jen, KISS actually has a song called Love Gun 😅
For a brief overview of their effect on the pop culture of their time, check out the coming-of-age rock comedy Detroit Rock City
“What’s wrong with being sexy”? 😂
Jen, You really need to watch Best in Show now! That is also a Christopher Guest mockumentory about dog shows and the crazy owners. It's hilarious! 🤣
How many local rock bands in cities across the globe called themselves “None More Black?” My band in high school was.
So glad to see you watching this. This movie had been one of my favs since I saw in the theater in high school (yes, I'm dating myself). I have seen the Tap play live 3x now and have the set list from the Milwaukee performance of their Unwigged and Unplugged performance - their final show of that tour. I was also Nigel Tufnel in a Tap cover band in the early 90s.
Keep up the great work! You are my favorite reactress. Thank you for being you.
Love this reaction of yours, Jen. Lots of laughter. That is arguably my favorite thing to see and hear you do. You so rock!!
Life later imitated art when Jeff Porcaro, drummer of Toto, died in a bizarre gardening accident.
I still think my favorite time I saw Tap was actually at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, where the then-current band (featuring "Rick Shrimpton" -- also played by Ric Parnell, Mick's secret twin brother, and CJ Vanston, who's actually been the keyboardist since). After Bob Geldof (of Live Aid fame), having just sung a song that the MTV feed didn't even show, introduced them as "an act that will put the evening's events into perspective. Too MUCH perspective. Please welcome, the near-legendary, Spinal Tap!" And they came out, magnanimously cut their set short by 35 songs, then... _genuinely_ had a "Spinal Tap moment" because Nigel's amp wasn't up and running.
(It's the same lineup today whenever they play except for, obviously, the drummer. Greg Bissonnette has played for them under his real name for about 15 years, and I do believe he was also "Skippy Scuffleton" beforehand. Still not my favorite drummer for Tap, though -- that's Mick Fleetwood for one show. I don't know how they explained he survived.)
EDIT -- Also did YT actually make you mute "Fufkin" exactly once? Gotta love it. Maybe Paul Shaffer (of David Letterman's band, the original Blues Brothers band before the movie, and co-writer of the Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men") mispronounced it once, but still...
This is a CLASSIC! So many young reactors overlook or do not understand the brilliance of this. THANK YOU for doing it!
PLEASE do "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show"!!!!!
What I love about this is the songs are pretty legit, but also perfectly mimicking various eras and bands
Even when I’m on vacation I’ll always stop what I’m doing to watch one of Jen’s reactions 🔥. Thank you for reacting to this Jen, I had a blast watching it 🔥💙
Don't you just love those camera angles, right by the armadillos honey!!! That's why they run screaming... you would too now wouldn't you??? Lmao 😂😂😂
Love you Jen, you got my heart & the door! ❤Muah❤
Fran Drescher plays her character Bobbi Flekman again in an episode of The nanny!
Also, I just remembered, if you ever want to see a real-life version of this movie, Canadian band Anvil put out their own documentary The Story of Anvil in 2008, which follows them as they struggle to stay a band while juggling every day responsibilities. There are sequences so ridiculous in there, it makes it both funnier and sadder that it's not a satire.
YES. Jen, thank you! Such an excellent match-up of reactor and movie. To answer your question about the songs, they are done in the style or spirit of various bands and musical movements, but are all original and not direct parodies of any songs that I'm aware of. You should get the album -- it's fantastic! And they were great in concert -- I actually saw them in a big outdoor venue in the mid 90s. These guys made several other mockumentaries, ALL of which are worth seeing.
What a great surprise on a Friday night! So much fun.
I'm sure everyone has already recommended "Best in Show" , you're guaranteed to love it because it's a mockumentary about a dog show.
Hi Jen, I hope you're well. I remember going to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and Spinal Tap were on the bill. They only played one song but it was brilliant. The bassist said they cut their set by thirty something songs "Because Freddie would have wanted it that way." As I say they were brilliant, bringing a little laughter into a very emotional day. Thank you Jen for another greate reaction ❤❤
Before internet and streaming services we used to have movie parties, get drunk and group-watch a roster of films over and over, depending on the mood, and Spinal Tap was always a top favorite. The amount of hilarious quotes alone is brilliance, excellent writing there.
"Hell Hole" is my favorite song! Also the bit on the amps nobs going to 11! Haha LMAO!❤
More fun facts: Michael McKean (David) played Mr. Green in “Clue.” Christopher Guest (Nigel) is married to Jamie Lee Curtis. Bass player Derek (Harry Shearer) does the voices of Mr. Burns, Smithers and Ned Flanders on “The Simpsons.”
Still cant believe it took me years to figure out the singer is Michael McKean, who played Sauls Brother in Better Call Saul.
He also played Lenny in Laverne & Shirley.
Some guitar amps go up to 11 IRL because of this movie.
In the movie " I Love You, Man ". The rock band Rush jokes about the make-up of their audience. Spinal Tab is such a classic.
YES!! I saw this on my feed and my day is now complete! These people also did Best In Show.
SoHo is short for "South of Houston St" (pronounced Huston St).
Saw this when I was a youngin. Flew right over my head. Took about 15 years later it finally clicked. 😂
Ah yes, I remember attending a Spinal Tap concert in my youth. I didn't bother wearing hearing protection because their sound is conducted directly into the brain through the skull. They really brought the house down...literally. I thought all of the white powder floating around was cocaine, but it was actually concrete dust, so I really should have known that parts of the arena were going to collapse from the sound pressure. This was in Florida, and NASA actually had to delay one of their rocket launches because their buildings and the rocket itself were damaged by the decibels the band were putting out. Good times. I even got to learn American Sign Language, which I use daily now, thanks to Spinal Tap. 😉
Shearer, Guest, and McKean have done a few tours as Spinal Tap and in some instances opened for themselves in different characters, a folk trio called the Folksmen (much to the chagrin of a few audiences who didn't get the joke). This fictional band joined several others in another of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries called A Mighty Wind.
I heard that Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker would argue and fight SO viciously during rehearsals that Eric Clapton would just sit and cry.
If you ever work on the road as a touring musician or part of the road crew, this movie hits so close to home that it’s almost scary lol Everything they show in the movie happens pretty much regularly in real life. All you really can do is just laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Oh, heck yes.
There's a three hour cut of this which has some scenes with the band's opening act, who was female led. She also had a herpes sore and, well, you can figure out 2+2.
One of my favorite quotes with the film was during one of the band's tours when (real life) folks were going to see the band and some of the audience was interviewed as to why they were going to see Spinaltap. The response "Well, they pretend to be a band. We pretend to be their fans."
The Decline of Modern Western Civilization: The Metal Years is a rockunentary about the glam metal scene on the L.A. strip in the 80s. It's very depressing, and raw.
Great reaction, Ms. Murray! I actually went to a Spinal Tap concert in the early 90's. It still ranks as one of my favorite concerts (and I have been to hundreds of shows). They are currently working on a sequel with Rob, Michael, Christopher, and Harry all returning.
Christopher, Harry, and Michael are all playing their own instruments. They played in front of crowds who thought they were watching a "real" band.
Which you could argue, after two or three albums, they are.
Fun fact if you look on the wall in the grandsons room in the movie The Princess Bride also directed by Rob Reiner you will see the Hat hanging on the wall that Marty the director is wearing in this movie.
It's not the actual hat but a replica since the original was long gone, but the hat appearing in the movie was a condition Mark Knopfler made in order to do the theme song for Princess Bride
@@DaleKingProfile Ah, okay. I knew it was "the same hat," so to speak and it was an Easter egg, but I didn't realize the Mark Knopfler connection. That's a cool one.
Kinda makes sense when you think of it as Mark does have a history of cavets when agreeing to stuff... I do know Mark Knopfler gave Weird Al permission to use "Money for Nothing" and change it to "The Beverly Hillbillies" Themesong for the movie "UHF" and as a rock video.... as long as he got to play the guitar on Al's version... to which Al happily agreed! Not to mention they had Sting come back to do his part of the vocals as well.
Here's a parody I wrote about this movie to the tune of the Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever", entitled "Mine Goes To Eleven":
Mine goes to eleven
That's my amp, in case you're wond'ring
And when Spinal Tap is thund'ring
I can crank up a notch
Feel that zing in my crotch like lightning
Mine goes to eleven,
When those decibels are peaking
And the audience is freaking
I've got something to serve
That I keep in reserve, it's frightening
I don't hold back
For what good to restrain it
Keep it down or refrain it
And when we're gone
The pain goes on
Mine goes to eleven
Not to five or six or seven
Even ten, is not the limit
Ten's a mere number which
Ain't the ultimate bitch, now innit
I don't need drugs
Though I rarely refuse them
But I don't have to use them
To get plugged in
The pain begins
Mine goes to eleven, eleven, eleven
Mine goes to eleven, eleven, eleven
Eleven, eleven
ua-cam.com/video/P0ciSjthE6M/v-deo.html
nobody asked
Great movie that a lot of the tropes are based on things that have really happened to different bands. When Ozzy saw it, he didn’t understand why people were laughing because he thought it was real. In fact the whole Stonehenge bit actually happened to Black Sabbath when their prop was too big for the stage. The getting lost backstage happened to a 70’s band called Angel, which I really like them. I saw them live and it was a great concert. Filled with mishaps. The music is awesome. This has a ton of cameos. You didn’t notice that the two mimes were Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey. You should check out a real documentary about a metal band that had a big downfall and it’s actually pretty sad. The Story Of Anvil. You may have heard of them, I’m pretty sure they were from Canada. The guitarist Nigel was the doctor witness in A Few Good Men.
Jen knows Savage on the keys when she hears it.
In New York, SOHO or just Soho stands for "south of Houston Street". A lot of community/neighborhood names in New York are based on location markers like this. To take another example, Tribeca stands for "triangle below Canal Street". My favorite is Dumbo in Brooklyn, which stands for "down under the Manhattan bridge overpass".
The songs are original and they have an actual Smell the Glove album with all the songs from the movie. It is fantastic.
Billy Crystal said "Mime is money." Dana Carvey was the mime he said that to.
The most accurate movie about metal and rock n roll ever made, nothing comes close. Sting told Rob Reiner whenever he watches it he doesn’t know if he’s gonna laugh or cry.
You did hear Billy Crystal's voice. He was the Chief Mime, that used the phrase, "Mime is Money." For another musical mockumentary, with the same guys, you might want to check out "A Mighty Wind". It has the same three primary stars but also adds Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey. Like this film, everyone learned and played their own instruments & sang their own songs.
There is a whole universe of stuff to know about Spinal Tap- It's one of those movies like Star Wars or Alien or Wizard of Oz that can literally become your hobby.
1:33 This is what you get when you combine Saul Goodman’s brother, Mr. Burns, The Princess Bride Six Fingered Man, a progressive rock musician and various drummers to form a band.
Ah, Patrick Macnee (who played Sir Denis)! As a little kid, like 5 years old, I thought he was the coolest actor around, literally playing Satan in _Battlestar Galactica_ (1978), my favorite show at the time (still is one of my favorites today). He also provided the narration for the opening of the show, and the voice of the leader of the evil robots who were trying to destroy mankind. He's so classy! And evil-looking. 😈
This is a fun film, I loved your reaction to it, Jen. This film was partly inspired by a "The Comic Strip Presents: 'Bad News' Tour" from 1982, 'The Comic Strip' was a collection of British alternative comedians who did skits around different subjects, I think that you'd like it, Jen.
There's also a similar mockumentary, "A Mighty Wind" 2003 which is about a collection of old Folk Music Groups getting together for an event.
Mighty Wind is another Christopher Guest film, with the Spinal Tap guys as the Folksmen. It's brilliant!
@@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis. Adam...your knowledge impresses me to no end!
@@tonyrichards254 Yes, that's the one.
@@e.d.2096 Hi Eric, Thank you for saying that.
How are things going with you, okay I hope?
@@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis. All is well, Adam. I hope it's the same with you?
Nice. Love this movie. Such a classic. "These go to 11" is probably my favorite line in a comedy ever.
At the actual Stonehenge there's a wall of quotes from literature about Stonehenge -- including the opening lines from the Spinal Tap song, credited to Nigel Tufnel.
This was the start work of a whole genre of film and kinda concept in comedy.
Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) is a landed Baron in the UK and member of the house of lords as he is the 5th Baron Haden-Guest.
So this makes the Lady Haden-Guest? Jaime Lee Curtis!
Yes, Jen, you did it again! Another great reaction to one of my favorite 3215 movies of all time! 🙂 I don't always comment on your reactions, but I always love it when you react to movies which I have seen (the others must be great too, but I don't want to spoil myself)!
Btw. SPINAL TAP was a fictional band for this movie, but they actually played concerts as a "real" band afterwards. The songs are original by the "band".
The "Mimes" were Billy Crystal & Dama Carvey
SOHO was an acronym for "South of Houston" (Manhattan south of Houston Street) which was a former manufacturing area which became inexpensive and artistic as the former warehouses were made into artist's lofts in the 1970's/80's
This is a collection of stories that happened to bands. Like, the airport scene is factual. Bands would call the press and "tip them off" as to what time they would be in the airport. Free publicity. But, there were usually photographers as well. So, for appearance, a certain rock singer would stuff his pants.
And he got busted.
thank you for a fun time, it was great to laugh along with your reaction 👍☺