When Jaime Lee Curtis saw this movie she called her agent to arrange a meeting with Christopher Guest. They began dating and got married. They are still together.
Actually I heard that story a little differently. I heard that she saw a picture of the three stars in Rolling Stone Magazine promoting the movie and that’s when she asked to meet Christoper Guest.
You should keep going down this rabbit hole with the other three films guys; Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind. All hilarious watches!
Not all the lines are improvised, there is absolutely a scene structure, but precisely how to play the scenes was left up to the actors and thier improv skills. This is a Who's Who of comedy greats, working together flawlessly.
A lot of people have commented that Michael McKean was Lenny on Laverne & Shirley. In 1979, "Lenny & the Squigtones" put out an album. The guitarist on the album was Nigel Tufnel (Christoper Guest). He is pictured on the back of album with his guitar.
Not only did real bands actually have to go through a lot of that kind of stuff, they actually had rock stars coming up to them asking "who told you that story?"
The DVD commentary they did was completely in character. They spent a large percentage of it bitching about the hatchet job Marty di Bergi did on them. They improvised all kinds of backstory for the events of the movie. It's like watching a whole new film!
All the actors who played the band were American, but they all pulled off a flawless English accent. Harry Shearer is well known for being a voice actor on The Simpsons.
Mostly. Christopher Guest has dual citizenship and is actually (minor) British Royalty and was in the House of Lords up until the late '90s when they reduced the size of that chamber. IIRC he's Baron Hayden-Guest. His father was a diplomat and he grew up mostly in the NYC area. His natural accent is more Transatlantic than British though. Ironically I think Michael McKean pulls off the accent better than Guest.
When I saw this movie in the theater in '84 I heard a woman telling her boyfriend that she was surprised that she had never heard of this band before. She thought it was all real!
On Canada Day in 92, they did a one day cross-country tour. They played a show on the east coast in the morning, flew to Ontario for an afternoon gig, then flew to BC for a gig that evening.
I've got both the black album and "Break Like the Wind". It was released in Australia with the guys with ripped bodies rather than bike clothes and the whole album's is just fantastic!
I saw this in the theater when it came out - I was the only person that got the jokes. Fun fact - The stonehenge "issue" was based on the Black Sabbath 1983 tour - Sabbath had a stage set up that couldn't get through most of the doors in the arenas they were playing.
I saw it with my dad who was a manager for rock bands in the late 60s and early 70s. It was one of his favorite films because so much of it was true. In his book, Phil Collins said most of the on-stage mishaps in the film happened to Genesis, including Peter Gabriel getting stuck in a prop tube he was supposed to crawl through.
One of the dvd sets has them doing commentary "in character". They keep saying that everyone else that appears on screen in the movie is "probably dead by now".
That was FANTASTIC! When she (quite correctly) pointed out that a section of the music was parodying The Who, I knew this movie was in good hands! And hey....if you like dogs, then you gotta see much of the same crew in "Best In Show", also improvised, about a dog show. HILARIOUS. They also did another music related one that's good, "A Mighty Wind". I'm sure people have told you: Harry Shearer (the mustached member) does, like, half the voices on The Simpsons (Mr. Burns, Smithers, etc). And the other two you see in millions of movies and TV shows, always different. GREAT reaction! I'm a very happy subscriber!!!!
If you could sit and listen to/watch them for hours, maybe you should see if the DVD extras are available online. I'm not suggesting another reaction, I'm just letting you know. There's a lot of stuff that never made it into the movie and there is a cast commentary track on which they stay in character all the way through and it's as good as the actual movie. You might want to check it out for yourselves if you can. I'm glad you had fun with this. I think it splits audiences a bit: you either get the comedy and it's hilarious, or you just don't get it at all. I'm glad you got it.
Oh yes, we really want to see the extras now that we know there's so much more content! I'm really glad we had fun with it too! Luckily we have a similar sense of humor :)
At one point Marshall Amplifier did make a limited edition amplifier that did go to 11. Other than that label on the control panel it was identical to a regular amp.
Hi guys, kudos for another great reaction. Two of my favourite facts about this film are: 1)- Harry Shearer plays Derek Smalls (the bass player) with a slight West Midlands accent and he even wears a Shrewsbury Town FC shirt (for context they are a fairly obscure English soccer team...sorry to all the 'Shrews' fans out there). 2)- Tap's last keyboardist and drummer were both actually in English rock bands of the 1970s (Atomic Rooster & Rare Bird). 😉😊🥰
Stumpy Joe was played by one of the biggest session drummers in the industr, Russ Kunkle. To this day when on tour, his dressing room has to have a sign marking the door that reads "Stumpy Joe". He's currently on tour with Lyle Lovett, and also plays in a band called "The Immediate Family" which is made up of players who also played on the same sessions throughout the last 50 years. Spinal Tapp have done tours where they play all the tunes and pull off all the antics and a few others not shown here. The same 3 guys have done many films together, one of which spoofs the folk music scene wherein they basically play the same type of characters called "A Mighty Wind".
Shooting is supposed to start this month on a Spinal Tap sequel. In addition to the original cast, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Garth Brooks will be in it. Rob Reiner originally wanted to release the film in March 2024 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original, but production got pushed back because of the Hollywood strikes.
My favourite movie with a great soundtrack is To Live and Die in LA. A gritty crime drama with a fantastic 80s soundtrack. Total bangers all by the band Wang Chung.
To Live and Die in L.A. also has one of the best authentic-feeling car chase scenes in movies. Yeah, Friedkin got tons of acclaim for the one in French Connection, but I MUCH prefer his chase in To Live and Die in L.A. It's also just a better movie, all around. I still remember it having one of the most WTF! moments I have ever experienced in a movie. If you know it, you know it. ;-)
Check out The Commitments (1991). It's not exactly a "mocumentary", but it is the story of a fictional Soul / R&B / MoTown-styled band, and it has a killer soundtrack of iconic retro songs.
They didn't just write and play the songs for the movie, they've actually gone on tour and released albums. As well as an "unwigged" tour where they played acoustic versions of Spinal Tap songs. They also created a different band (playing folk music) for the movie A Mighty Wind, and did a tour where the Folksmen opened for Spinal Tap. These are some of the most all-around talented performers alive (Michael McKean, who does brilliant dramatic acting in Better Call Saul, is particularly versatile).
It was a structured improvisation - the director & actors came up with a whole, in-depth backstory to the band. Once they all new it, questions were asked and responses were genuine based on their memory of the backstory - thus getting a realistic 'documentary' feel to the film. :)
"Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?" "These go to eleven." Fun Fact: Director Rob Reiner is indeed Marty DiBergi. What Script Fact: Although the scenarios were written in advance, much of the actual dialogue was ad-libbed. Art Imitates Art Fact: Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling cited the movie as inspiration for the unfortunate events that cause all Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers at Hogwarts to leave the job before completing a full school year. Music Enthusiast Fact: The actors are all competent musicians, so they co-wrote all the original songs and they're actually playing on the soundtrack. Although I found no charting information, Big Bottom (1984) specifically is considered a rock classic. Historical Fact: Several rock stars have commented on what an uncannily accurate spoof of the rock and heavy metal world this film was. Ozzy Osbourne said when he first watched the film, he was the only person who WASN'T laughing; he thought it was all too real. "I didn't laugh, I wept. It was so close to the truth." noted U2 guitarist The Edge. Marillion had five drummers in the space of a year between their first two albums, which guitarist Steve Rothery later admitted was: "like Spinal Tap."
It's interesting that they hit a nerve with professional musicians. Since the actors were musicians as well, they might have had some of those moments happen to them. Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
As far as mock-rockumentaries, the other classic one (that predates Spinal Tap) is basically a Monty Python/Saturday Night Live hybrid: "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash". If you know The Beatles at all, that is a must see, hilarious, brilliant, spot-on, and again, the music is fantastic and mind-bogglingly authentic sounding. (And catchy!). Bonus: It's only an hour long and no one has reacted to it yet! If you know the basic Beatles story/biography, it's even better. Like Spinal Tap, the more you know, the more you'll get.
@@adaddinsane COMPLETELY agree, and I almost recommended it! I would LOVE to see a reaction to "A Hard Day's Night" and they would be great reactors for it. (Ditto "Yellow Submarine".) (or any of the Beatles movies!)
They've done two "World Tours" of 30-40 stops in the US, Canada & the UK. They've played in the Royal Albert Hall and both old and new Wembley stadiums. The drummer for the film (RJ Parnell) played most of their tours up until recently as his characters' twin brother. Parnell actually was the drummer on Toni Basil's one hit wonder "Mickey" from the early '80s.
Michael McKean (blond) was Lenny on Laverne & Shirley show. Christopher Guest (Sat Nite Live) is married to Jamie Lee Curtis, has written & acted in other movies- Best In Show is a sendup of dog shows & is hilarious. Harry Shearer (beard) has a radio show/pod cast from New Orleans.
They're all so enormously talented. I know young people who saw this and had their minds blown when they realized that David St Hubbins is Chuck McGill from Better Call Saul.
McKean was recently in the first season of "Good Omens". Guest is perhaps best known as the six-fingered man in "The Princess Bride". Shearer has done about a million different voices on "The Simpsons".
Indeed, there was so much demand for albums that they formed a band, because of the movie. As for Fran's first movie scene, she improvised the part about the album cover, not knowing that they intended to have an all-black album cover later in the film. So when she brought up the White album, it was too perfect, and they kept that first take, knowing they couldn't do better if they tried.
And the cherry on the top of all that talent is, the main band are all from the US so they were doing it all while putting on an English accent (OK, as a UK native I can attest they're far from perfect BUT they're perfect _in these roles_ which is surely what counts). (on that note, despite the channel name I sometimes forget you guys are Canadian then Chandra will use a word like "jumper" and make it crystal clear again :)
This movie pretty much created the "mockumentary" concept. Most of the folks here have collaborated on several other mockumentary's, the best IMO, being "Best in Show" which follows a group of people and their dogs getting ready to compete in a big dog show. Others are "A Mighty Wind" (a reuinion of an old folk music group), "Waiting for Guffman" (about community theater), "For Your Consideration" (cast of an indy movie anticipating a surprise Oscar nomination), and "Mascots" which I just found out about but haven't seen.
Other great music movies: -Amadeus -The Commitments -Eddie and the Cruisers -The Blues Brothers -Grease -That Thing You Do! -Flash Dance -Footloose -Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1, 2, and 3 To name a few. Who can name more?
I'm not gonna scroll through all the comments but in the unlikely event that nobody else has said it... Yes, they've played live gigs in character, including Glastonbury festival and the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London. Fingers crossed that the upcoming sequel comes close to being as good.
A fun thing to do is spot when they're about to break character and laugh at their improv. And, yes. They went on tour a couple of times IRL - in character.
If you listen closely when they talk about their drummer spontaneously combusting, Michael McKean says, "We found his face." This is almost completely drowned out by Christopher Guest's line, "There was a little green globule." McKean drops the part about the face, and we get the bit about the globule or stain.
as a sub, I am hoping you guys continue the LOTR trilogy...... You did such a fantastic job with the first movie. The main reason I subscribed. You are so pleasant to watch react. Blessings to you both..
Agreed. However I would add The Hobbit (1977) before the LOTR trilogy, as it is the adaptation of the book that preceded the novel trilogy. Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
Yes, they made more records and toured as a band. In fact I heard they are finally planning a sequel to this, some 40 years later. If you want another movie with amazing music watch THAT THING YOU DO with Tom Hanks.
A great story many don't know. They put together a folk group called 'The Folksmen' and they would get into makeup looking completely different. Then they went on tour opening up for Spinal Tap. They would get bood and many people never realized they were the same guys. The Folksmen are featured heavily in A Mighty Wind, another mockumentary by them focusing on a folk music tribute show.
Apparently, at least it is what I heard, the stonehenge bit actually happened to Black Sabbath (neither Ozzy nor Dio incarnation though) but instead of making it smaller they actually made it bigger than it was supposed to be. The bass player voices a few characters on the Simpsons, Mr. Burns and Smithers among others. I recal seeing a performance of Big Bottom here on UA-cam, it might have been at a festival, where every band playing in the festival went up on stage to play that song. As far as suggestions off the top of my head of movies including great soundtrack (I will cheat a bit and include musicals): Reservoir Dogs, Sound of Music, the Phantom of the Opera, The Producers (2005), Knight's Tale, Guy Ritchie's King Arthur
"Would you be happy doing that?" Implying that any mundane job would be impossible for a rock star to contemplate "Well I don't know...what are the hours?" 🤣Yep, just sublime subtle humour.
I'm put in mind of a song by Paul Simon: "Fakin' It"... "Prior to this lifetime I surely was a tailor ["Good morning, Mr. Leitch. Have you had a busy day?"] I own the tailor's face and hands I am the tailor's face and hands"
They've definitely performed as Spinal Tap. They also recorded an audio commentary track in character. They released a track called Back From The Dead. Rob Reiner and the group are filming a sequel right now. Other movies with great soundtracks include: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Pulp Fiction, Heavy Metal and American Pop. There is also 90 minutes of outtake footage out there to watch.
I think the one Spinal Tap album you were referring to at the end of the video was Break Like The Wind. The cover had the three standing proudly. One of the songs was The Majesty of Rock.
You really should try to dig up the commentary for this movie from the DVD. The three guys do the commentary in character, and it's like watching a whole new movie. (The amount of time they spend bitching about the hatchet job Marty di Bergi did on them is hilarious.) Also, there's a great piece of interview with Christopher Guest here on YT where he explains the origin of Nigel Tufnel. It's hysterical. 😂
From Wiki: "In May 2022, director Rob Reiner announced that he is working on a sequel to the film, which will include him returning to play DiBergi, and McKean, Shearer, and Guest as the members of Spinal Tap. The film will be Castle Rock Entertainment's first film following its revival in 2021. Filming is scheduled to start in February 2024."
Brian May the guitarist from Queen was hospitalized after injuring buttocks in ‘over-enthusiastic’ gardening incident a few years back, so I guess its not that hard to beleive.
JK Rowling says she got her literary device of needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year from this film's trouble keeping a living drummer. This was Anjelica Huston's first acting gig, as the manufacturer of the tiny stonehenge. I've used "goes to 11" so many times over the years. Every so often I come across some random dial that goes to '10', and I draw in an '11' setting to match. I love that the film ends with a sort of "I'm famous in Japan" revival of the band. Christopher Guest and Michael McKean wrote the Spinal Tap songs and used their solid knowledge of music theory/structure to create 'bad' songs, with emphasis in all the wrong places and such. And it still came out good! These two have other films of ensemble cast doing dry, documentary-style performances that are so funny: -"Best in Show" (2000) -"A Mighty Wind" (2003) "Director Rob Reiner has confirmed that the eagerly-awaited This Is Spinal Tap sequel is almost done and it's set for release in late spring or early summer 2025. Reiner is once again directing and starring as documentarian Martin “Marty” DiBergi in the follow-up to the classic 1984 mockumentary." -Jul 19, 2024 "The production has also confirmed its cameos, with Questlove and Trisha Yearwood joining the already announced lineup of Elton John, Paul McCartney and Garth Brooks." -Mar 11, 2024
Even though I know Nigel was played by Christopher Guest, and I know Christopher Guest played the six-fingered man in The Princess Bride...they just absolutely do not seem like the same actor to me.
Hilarious stuff guys! I can't stop laughing at around 5:30... Chandra's been handling the Game of Thrones reactions with no problem but her reaction to "pink torpedo" is pure disgust... hahaha!
When the lady said I wonder what the cover was, I saw a glint in her eye. She was thinking of a greased naked woman with a dog collar around her neck, and a hand pushing a black glove in her face..... Guess what? They did use that cover. The next record after this was called "break like the wind" The first song on that record is called bitch school. That was released as a single and that actually had that cover on the front. You can Google the picture I'm sure.
All the actors are famous well traveled comedians. Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest)and St Hubbins (Micheal McKean) were on SNL. Harry Shearer played the bass player was on SNL and many other comedy shows. They've done a whole slew of spoof movies, but Spinal Tap started it all. They are just competent enough playing music that they could perform these songs (which is in itself a spoof about 80s Hair Metal).
Christopher Guest has done some brilliant mockumentories, waiting for Guffman , best in show , a mighty wind ( he is also Lord Hayden Guest and married to Jamie Lee Curtis 😊😊😊😊(
People who work in the music biz don't think this is a mockumentary. There is too much overlap with real life, from failling set pieces to backstage dramas. The 80's touring scene really was the wild west. It is far more corporate and sanitised today. I have witnessed bands lost backstage and set pieces failling to work, necessitating live repairs during a gig. I absolutely love this film!
Happy Valentine's Day to the both of you! Jordan, you're a lucky guy! I don't have anyone special in my life to celebrate this romantic holiday with unfortunately. But as a friendly subscriber to thank you for great content and reactions, a movie ticket for Jordan🎟 and a beautiful rose for the beautiful Shandra!🌹Have a great evening you two!😁
Christopher Guest (Nigel) is married to Jaimie Lee Curtis. Micheal McKean (David) was on Laverne And Shirley and Better Call Saul. Harry Shearer (Derek) voices a few Simpsons characters. I saw Spinal Tap live in '92. When they did Stonehedge the audience never saw the prop- it was too big for the stage. There were Letterman appearances by them in character. And there is DVD commentary in character also.
Here's a pro-tip for those who enjoy TIST. On the DVD audio commentary, the three main actors watch and comment on the movie IN CHARACTER. It is essentially like getting a second helping of This is Spinal Tap but even funnier.
The cucumber in the pants is high level absurdist comedy. Why wrap it in tin foil when you’re going through a metal detector, unless the point is to reveal it to be a cucumber? And who’s the prank for? Just brilliant. 😂
How much funnier can this movie be? The answer is none.. none more funnier.
When Jaime Lee Curtis saw this movie she called her agent to arrange a meeting with Christopher Guest. They began dating and got married. They are still together.
It also helped that Jaime Lee and the film's director, Rob Reiner, were graduates from Beverly Hills High School.
Actually I heard that story a little differently. I heard that she saw a picture of the three stars in Rolling Stone Magazine promoting the movie and that’s when she asked to meet Christoper Guest.
“People should envy us.”
“I envy us.”
“So do I.”
You should keep going down this rabbit hole with the other three films guys; Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind. All hilarious watches!
Best in Show is my favorite of the lot... but they are all hysterical.
@@KabukiKid Agreed!
Oh yes. A MIGHTY WIND is another one with amazing music.
Christopher Guest is THE GOAT of Mockumentary
Not all the lines are improvised, there is absolutely a scene structure, but precisely how to play the scenes was left up to the actors and thier improv skills. This is a Who's Who of comedy greats, working together flawlessly.
The think with improv is as much good you capture there are reels and reels of bad !
They're actually supposed to start filming the sequel this month! (Feb 2024)
Really!? I would love to see that!
I'm a little bit excited.
@@Wizardofgosz I'm dreading it tbh
@@ph8077 I'm not. They're creative people.
@@ph8077 I'm hopeful. Cristopher Guest and Michael McKean have never disappointed me this far.
A lot of people have commented that Michael McKean was Lenny on Laverne & Shirley. In 1979, "Lenny & the Squigtones" put out an album. The guitarist on the album was Nigel Tufnel (Christoper Guest). He is pictured on the back of album with his guitar.
"It's one louder."
Once you know the "it goes to eleven" joke you will see this referenced EVERYWHERE
It's the only movie on IMDB to be rated out of 11
@@nevrogers8198 holy shit I didn't know that, that's amazing!
@@nevrogers8198 I went immediately to check.... that's hilarious!
Not only did real bands actually have to go through a lot of that kind of stuff, they actually had rock stars coming up to them asking "who told you that story?"
Hahaha omg that's so wild!
If you watch the Metallica documentary the similarities in personalities to Spinal Tap are startling !
They did tour a little bit in the 90's. They even played at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert in Wembley in 1992 (they never dropped the act)
Yeah, they confronted Metallica backstage because Metallica stole their album cover for The Black Album.
The DVD commentary they did was completely in character. They spent a large percentage of it bitching about the hatchet job Marty di Bergi did on them. They improvised all kinds of backstory for the events of the movie. It's like watching a whole new film!
The outtakes on the Special Edition DVD are almost as long as the original film, and just as funny @@Serai3
All the actors who played the band were American, but they all pulled off a flawless English accent. Harry Shearer is well known for being a voice actor on The Simpsons.
principal skinner!
Mostly. Christopher Guest has dual citizenship and is actually (minor) British Royalty and was in the House of Lords up until the late '90s when they reduced the size of that chamber. IIRC he's Baron Hayden-Guest. His father was a diplomat and he grew up mostly in the NYC area. His natural accent is more Transatlantic than British though. Ironically I think Michael McKean pulls off the accent better than Guest.
Definitely not flawless.
When I saw this movie in the theater in '84 I heard a woman telling her boyfriend that she was surprised that she had never heard of this band before. She thought it was all real!
I've seen reactions to this where I am sure the reactors thought they were watching a documentary about a real band.
On Canada Day in 92, they did a one day cross-country tour. They played a show on the east coast in the morning, flew to Ontario for an afternoon gig, then flew to BC for a gig that evening.
No way!! I bet it was sooo much fun to see
I saw them at Molson Park, in Barrie, along with Amanda Marshall, Sass Jordan, and others. It was called the Great Canadian Party.
That's amazing!@@DavidB-2268
That is nothing; in 1982, George Thorogood and the Destroyers did a "50 cities, 50 states in 50 days" tour
Saw them that day in St. John's, Newfoundland. EPIC.
They did release an album (that i own) called "Break Like The Wind". The cover is the band in skin tight ski suits like you'd see in the Olympics.
Hahaha, omg that's amazing!
They have 3 albums This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and Back From the Dead.
I'm so curious as to what the cover looks like for Back From the Dead... okay just looked it up. Hahahaha... I love it.@@michaelweigand8643
I've got both the black album and "Break Like the Wind". It was released in Australia with the guys with ripped bodies rather than bike clothes and the whole album's is just fantastic!
I got the DVD over 20 years ago, and there are so many deleted scenes on it, it’s practically like there’s another movie!
The commentary track is pure gold! They do it all in character and is like watching a fresh movie again! So funny!
I saw this in the theater when it came out - I was the only person that got the jokes.
Fun fact - The stonehenge "issue" was based on the Black Sabbath 1983 tour - Sabbath had a stage set up that couldn't get through most of the doors in the arenas they were playing.
I saw it with my dad who was a manager for rock bands in the late 60s and early 70s. It was one of his favorite films because so much of it was true.
In his book, Phil Collins said most of the on-stage mishaps in the film happened to Genesis, including Peter Gabriel getting stuck in a prop tube he was supposed to crawl through.
One of the dvd sets has them doing commentary "in character". They keep saying that everyone else that appears on screen in the movie is "probably dead by now".
That was FANTASTIC! When she (quite correctly) pointed out that a section of the music was parodying The Who, I knew this movie was in good hands! And hey....if you like dogs, then you gotta see much of the same crew in "Best In Show", also improvised, about a dog show. HILARIOUS. They also did another music related one that's good, "A Mighty Wind". I'm sure people have told you: Harry Shearer (the mustached member) does, like, half the voices on The Simpsons (Mr. Burns, Smithers, etc). And the other two you see in millions of movies and TV shows, always different. GREAT reaction! I'm a very happy subscriber!!!!
they really should watch both of those films. christopher guest rules.
Yes. When she got the Who reference, I was very happy.
I said 'The Who Section' a few seconds before she said it.
@@ianstopher9111 nice!
If you could sit and listen to/watch them for hours, maybe you should see if the DVD extras are available online. I'm not suggesting another reaction, I'm just letting you know. There's a lot of stuff that never made it into the movie and there is a cast commentary track on which they stay in character all the way through and it's as good as the actual movie. You might want to check it out for yourselves if you can.
I'm glad you had fun with this. I think it splits audiences a bit: you either get the comedy and it's hilarious, or you just don't get it at all. I'm glad you got it.
Oh yes, we really want to see the extras now that we know there's so much more content! I'm really glad we had fun with it too! Luckily we have a similar sense of humor :)
At one point Marshall Amplifier did make a limited edition amplifier that did go to 11. Other than that label on the control panel it was identical to a regular amp.
They actually put on real concerts and came out with albums. Also , a Part 2 is in the making.
Hi guys, kudos for another great reaction. Two of my favourite facts about this film are:
1)- Harry Shearer plays Derek Smalls (the bass player) with a slight West Midlands accent and he even wears a Shrewsbury Town FC shirt (for context they are a fairly obscure English soccer team...sorry to all the 'Shrews' fans out there).
2)- Tap's last keyboardist and drummer were both actually in English rock bands of the 1970s (Atomic Rooster & Rare Bird). 😉😊🥰
I've seen this movie probably 100 times. I never noticed that David took Jeneane's gum when they kissed until you pointed it out. Subtile brilliance.
Stumpy Joe was played by one of the biggest session drummers in the industr, Russ Kunkle. To this day when on tour, his dressing room has to have a sign marking the door that reads "Stumpy Joe". He's currently on tour with Lyle Lovett, and also plays in a band called "The Immediate Family" which is made up of players who also played on the same sessions throughout the last 50 years.
Spinal Tapp have done tours where they play all the tunes and pull off all the antics and a few others not shown here. The same 3 guys have done many films together, one of which spoofs the folk music scene wherein they basically play the same type of characters called "A Mighty Wind".
I heard They also opened for themselves. The Folksmen supposedly opened for Spinal Tap.
Spinal Tap is a fine line between stupidity & cleverness:) heard they might be working on a new ST movie currently
Please let it happen.
There's also a sequel coming out later this year. Elton John and Paul McCartney are gonna be in it, I assume onstage with Spinal Tap.
Shooting is supposed to start this month on a Spinal Tap sequel. In addition to the original cast, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Garth Brooks will be in it. Rob Reiner originally wanted to release the film in March 2024 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original, but production got pushed back because of the Hollywood strikes.
Oh wow, those artists are huge! They must all have a good sense of humor to want to be in the movie!
Check out "A Mighty Wind" Its the same 3 guys doing a folk music version of Spinal Tap. Hilarious
My favourite movie with a great soundtrack is To Live and Die in LA. A gritty crime drama with a fantastic 80s soundtrack. Total bangers all by the band Wang Chung.
To Live and Die in L.A. also has one of the best authentic-feeling car chase scenes in movies. Yeah, Friedkin got tons of acclaim for the one in French Connection, but I MUCH prefer his chase in To Live and Die in L.A. It's also just a better movie, all around. I still remember it having one of the most WTF! moments I have ever experienced in a movie. If you know it, you know it. ;-)
Check out The Commitments (1991). It's not exactly a "mocumentary", but it is the story of a fictional Soul / R&B / MoTown-styled band, and it has a killer soundtrack of iconic retro songs.
They didn't just write and play the songs for the movie, they've actually gone on tour and released albums. As well as an "unwigged" tour where they played acoustic versions of Spinal Tap songs. They also created a different band (playing folk music) for the movie A Mighty Wind, and did a tour where the Folksmen opened for Spinal Tap.
These are some of the most all-around talented performers alive (Michael McKean, who does brilliant dramatic acting in Better Call Saul, is particularly versatile).
It was a structured improvisation - the director & actors came up with a whole, in-depth backstory to the band. Once they all new it, questions were asked and responses were genuine based on their memory of the backstory - thus getting a realistic 'documentary' feel to the film. :)
"Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?"
"These go to eleven."
Fun Fact: Director Rob Reiner is indeed Marty DiBergi.
What Script Fact: Although the scenarios were written in advance, much of the actual dialogue was ad-libbed.
Art Imitates Art Fact: Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling cited the movie as inspiration for the unfortunate events that cause all Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers at Hogwarts to leave the job before completing a full school year.
Music Enthusiast Fact: The actors are all competent musicians, so they co-wrote all the original songs and they're actually playing on the soundtrack. Although I found no charting information, Big Bottom (1984) specifically is considered a rock classic.
Historical Fact: Several rock stars have commented on what an uncannily accurate spoof of the rock and heavy metal world this film was. Ozzy Osbourne said when he first watched the film, he was the only person who WASN'T laughing; he thought it was all too real. "I didn't laugh, I wept. It was so close to the truth." noted U2 guitarist The Edge. Marillion had five drummers in the space of a year between their first two albums, which guitarist Steve Rothery later admitted was: "like Spinal Tap."
The Historical Facts are wild! I assumed a lot of it was realistic, but not THAT much! Haha
It's interesting that they hit a nerve with professional musicians. Since the actors were musicians as well, they might have had some of those moments happen to them.
Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
Oh I'm sure! @@BigGator5
Bass player does numerous voices on the Simpsons
Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner...
As far as mock-rockumentaries, the other classic one (that predates Spinal Tap) is basically a Monty Python/Saturday Night Live hybrid: "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash". If you know The Beatles at all, that is a must see, hilarious, brilliant, spot-on, and again, the music is fantastic and mind-bogglingly authentic sounding. (And catchy!). Bonus: It's only an hour long and no one has reacted to it yet! If you know the basic Beatles story/biography, it's even better. Like Spinal Tap, the more you know, the more you'll get.
The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" is a mockumentary.
@@adaddinsane COMPLETELY agree, and I almost recommended it! I would LOVE to see a reaction to "A Hard Day's Night" and they would be great reactors for it. (Ditto "Yellow Submarine".) (or any of the Beatles movies!)
@@adaddinsane
No it isn't.
I had The Rutles album, there were some cool tunes on there.
@@jackspringheel9963 Great album! "You're so pusillanimous, oh yeah......Nature's calling and I must go there." LOL.
The Bass Player is the comedian/actor Harry Shearer, who does voices for The Simpsons.
They've done two "World Tours" of 30-40 stops in the US, Canada & the UK. They've played in the Royal Albert Hall and both old and new Wembley stadiums. The drummer for the film (RJ Parnell) played most of their tours up until recently as his characters' twin brother. Parnell actually was the drummer on Toni Basil's one hit wonder "Mickey" from the early '80s.
This is THE funniest movie ever made. This is THE movie that started the dry "mocumentary" style.
Michael McKean (blond) was Lenny on Laverne & Shirley show. Christopher Guest (Sat Nite Live) is married to Jamie Lee Curtis, has written & acted in other movies- Best In Show is a sendup of dog shows & is hilarious. Harry Shearer (beard) has a radio show/pod cast from New Orleans.
They're all so enormously talented. I know young people who saw this and had their minds blown when they realized that David St Hubbins is Chuck McGill from Better Call Saul.
McKean was recently in the first season of "Good Omens".
Guest is perhaps best known as the six-fingered man in "The Princess Bride".
Shearer has done about a million different voices on "The Simpsons".
@@GeoffTrowbridge McKean was also the brother on Better Call Saul and did a great job there.
He was also Doug Forcett in The Good Place.
Indeed, there was so much demand for albums that they formed a band, because of the movie. As for Fran's first movie scene, she improvised the part about the album cover, not knowing that they intended to have an all-black album cover later in the film. So when she brought up the White album, it was too perfect, and they kept that first take, knowing they couldn't do better if they tried.
And the cherry on the top of all that talent is, the main band are all from the US so they were doing it all while putting on an English accent (OK, as a UK native I can attest they're far from perfect BUT they're perfect _in these roles_ which is surely what counts).
(on that note, despite the channel name I sometimes forget you guys are Canadian then Chandra will use a word like "jumper" and make it crystal clear again :)
The DVD commentary (in character) is my favorite DVD special feature
I tell everyone I can about that commentary track, as well! It is criminally unknown to most! It's the best commentary track I have ever experienced.
This movie pretty much created the "mockumentary" concept. Most of the folks here have collaborated on several other mockumentary's, the best IMO, being "Best in Show" which follows a group of people and their dogs getting ready to compete in a big dog show. Others are "A Mighty Wind" (a reuinion of an old folk music group), "Waiting for Guffman" (about community theater), "For Your Consideration" (cast of an indy movie anticipating a surprise Oscar nomination), and "Mascots" which I just found out about but haven't seen.
There are also a lot of cameos in this movie. My favorite is Billy Crystal saying “Mime is money.” 😂
@25:48
Yes, they did- many times! 😎💥
They actually did tour and had released another album much later. There is supposed to be a sequel in the works.
Other great music movies:
-Amadeus
-The Commitments
-Eddie and the Cruisers
-The Blues Brothers
-Grease
-That Thing You Do!
-Flash Dance
-Footloose
-Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1, 2, and 3
To name a few. Who can name more?
I'm not gonna scroll through all the comments but in the unlikely event that nobody else has said it...
Yes, they've played live gigs in character, including Glastonbury festival and the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London.
Fingers crossed that the upcoming sequel comes close to being as good.
There’s so much truth in the hilarity. So very many quotable lines too.
A fun thing to do is spot when they're about to break character and laugh at their improv.
And, yes. They went on tour a couple of times IRL - in character.
If you listen closely when they talk about their drummer spontaneously combusting, Michael McKean says, "We found his face." This is almost completely drowned out by Christopher Guest's line, "There was a little green globule." McKean drops the part about the face, and we get the bit about the globule or stain.
14:20 ladies and gentlemen, Paul Schaeffer
Thanks, Dave. 😎
Are we sure that’s really him, and not just Chris Elliott again?
Canada's own.
Armadillo in pants ( aka: Zucchini in tin foil ) 😂😂😂
9:22 Dr. Johnny Fever.
as a sub, I am hoping you guys continue the LOTR trilogy...... You did such a fantastic job with the first movie. The main reason I subscribed. You are so pleasant to watch react. Blessings to you both..
Agreed. However I would add The Hobbit (1977) before the LOTR trilogy, as it is the adaptation of the book that preceded the novel trilogy.
Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
Awww, you're so sweet! Yes, we are absolutely going to continue with the trilogy!
I forgot that you guys already watched the first movie.
Still, The Hobbit (1977) is still a must watch.
Go with God and Be Safe from Evil. 😎 👍
Oh! That's the animated one right! It's been recommended to us a few times now!@@BigGator5
Yes, they made more records and toured as a band. In fact I heard they are finally planning a sequel to this, some 40 years later.
If you want another movie with amazing music watch THAT THING YOU DO with Tom Hanks.
A great story many don't know. They put together a folk group called 'The Folksmen' and they would get into makeup looking completely different. Then they went on tour opening up for Spinal Tap. They would get bood and many people never realized they were the same guys. The Folksmen are featured heavily in A Mighty Wind, another mockumentary by them focusing on a folk music tribute show.
Apparently, at least it is what I heard, the stonehenge bit actually happened to Black Sabbath (neither Ozzy nor Dio incarnation though) but instead of making it smaller they actually made it bigger than it was supposed to be.
The bass player voices a few characters on the Simpsons, Mr. Burns and Smithers among others.
I recal seeing a performance of Big Bottom here on UA-cam, it might have been at a festival, where every band playing in the festival went up on stage to play that song.
As far as suggestions off the top of my head of movies including great soundtrack (I will cheat a bit and include musicals):
Reservoir Dogs, Sound of Music, the Phantom of the Opera, The Producers (2005), Knight's Tale, Guy Ritchie's King Arthur
A too big stage prop seems better than one too small, unless you're a comedy band haha. And thank you so much for all the recommendations!
Yeah this happened when Ian Gillan was lead vocalist.
A great soundtrack and hilarious 80s comedy is Better Off Dead (1985). Repo Man (1984) is another cult classic with a great soundtrack.
This is one of the best film of the '80s.
Last line of the film might be my favorite. I think he actually thought he was being offered a shoe salesman job.
"Would you be happy doing that?" Implying that any mundane job would be impossible for a rock star to contemplate
"Well I don't know...what are the hours?" 🤣Yep, just sublime subtle humour.
I'm put in mind of a song by Paul Simon: "Fakin' It"...
"Prior to this lifetime
I surely was a tailor
["Good morning, Mr. Leitch. Have you had a busy day?"]
I own the tailor's face and hands
I am the tailor's face and hands"
@@chris...9497 Years after writing thet song, Paul Simon learned that his great uncle was a tailor.
Easy one with great sound track is Purple Rain with Prince.
They've definitely performed as Spinal Tap. They also recorded an audio commentary track in character. They released a track called Back From The Dead. Rob Reiner and the group are filming a sequel right now.
Other movies with great soundtracks include: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Pulp Fiction, Heavy Metal and American Pop.
There is also 90 minutes of outtake footage out there to watch.
I think the one Spinal Tap album you were referring to at the end of the video was Break Like The Wind. The cover had the three standing proudly. One of the songs was The Majesty of Rock.
Fun to figure out which bands they are satirizing - like rubbing the violin on the guitar is Jimmy Page, who used a violin bow.
Some of the lyrics remind of the cringey Gene Simmons.
The tuning of the violin always makes me laugh.
"Artie Fuffkin - Polymer Records!"
Kick my ass! I'm not asking I'm telling with this lmao
Really have to be careful around that guy. He was the leader of the World’s Most Dangerous Band for many years.
@@0okaminothey had more fun than human beings should be allowed to have!
Paul Shaffer, keyboardist on the original SNL, and later on band leader keyboardist for David Letterman show.
@@0okamino He could really rock the Roland Cheesmaster 3000!
You really should try to dig up the commentary for this movie from the DVD. The three guys do the commentary in character, and it's like watching a whole new movie. (The amount of time they spend bitching about the hatchet job Marty di Bergi did on them is hilarious.) Also, there's a great piece of interview with Christopher Guest here on YT where he explains the origin of Nigel Tufnel. It's hysterical. 😂
From Wiki: "In May 2022, director Rob Reiner announced that he is working on a sequel to the film, which will include him returning to play DiBergi, and McKean, Shearer, and Guest as the members of Spinal Tap. The film will be Castle Rock Entertainment's first film following its revival in 2021. Filming is scheduled to start in February 2024."
Brian May the guitarist from Queen was hospitalized after injuring buttocks in ‘over-enthusiastic’ gardening incident a few years back, so I guess its not that hard to beleive.
Hahaha What!? I can't even imagine what that means
didn't the Toto guy die in an unfortunate gardening accident?
JK Rowling says she got her literary device of needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year from this film's trouble keeping a living drummer.
This was Anjelica Huston's first acting gig, as the manufacturer of the tiny stonehenge.
I've used "goes to 11" so many times over the years. Every so often I come across some random dial that goes to '10', and I draw in an '11' setting to match.
I love that the film ends with a sort of "I'm famous in Japan" revival of the band.
Christopher Guest and Michael McKean wrote the Spinal Tap songs and used their solid knowledge of music theory/structure to create 'bad' songs, with emphasis in all the wrong places and such. And it still came out good!
These two have other films of ensemble cast doing dry, documentary-style performances that are so funny:
-"Best in Show" (2000)
-"A Mighty Wind" (2003)
"Director Rob Reiner has confirmed that the eagerly-awaited This Is Spinal Tap sequel is almost done and it's set for release in late spring or early summer 2025. Reiner is once again directing and starring as documentarian Martin “Marty” DiBergi in the follow-up to the classic 1984 mockumentary." -Jul 19, 2024
"The production has also confirmed its cameos, with Questlove and Trisha Yearwood joining the already announced lineup of Elton John, Paul McCartney and Garth Brooks." -Mar 11, 2024
I saw a movie in the 1980s titled Flash gordon. Queen did the music.
Their follow up album was called Break Like The Wind, featuring the single Bitch School.
Another thing to keep in mind about the brilliance of the acting is that they were all American
Christopher Guest is English. He actually had a seat in the House of Lords until 1999.
Rock Band! My band name in the first couple Guitar Heroes and then the Rock Band series was In Dubly.
I never played online, though.
Even though I know Nigel was played by Christopher Guest, and I know Christopher Guest played the six-fingered man in The Princess Bride...they just absolutely do not seem like the same actor to me.
Both his fingers and his amp go to 11. 🙂
Watch A Few Good Men and check out the coroner. It's Guest. He's also a member of the British House of Lords.
Michael McKean plays Saul's older brother in Better Call Saul.
A song with a big bottom is heavy on the bass. "Big Bottom" is played on 3 bass guitars and no lead.
Hilarious stuff guys! I can't stop laughing at around 5:30... Chandra's been handling the Game of Thrones reactions with no problem but her reaction to "pink torpedo" is pure disgust... hahaha!
The made an album of all the music of the film - with a back over
About 10 years later they did "Break Like the Wind"
Its a comedy but U2 guitarist The Edge said he cried through the whole thing, because of how true he found it
Looking forward to the release of the long-awaited sequel, Spinal Tap II.
When the lady said I wonder what the cover was, I saw a glint in her eye. She was thinking of a greased naked woman with a dog collar around her neck, and a hand pushing a black glove in her face.....
Guess what?
They did use that cover. The next record after this was called "break like the wind"
The first song on that record is called bitch school. That was released as a single and that actually had that cover on the front. You can Google the picture I'm sure.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974). Tommy (1975).
I might be late to the party, but A Mighty Wind is another band "documentary" they did as a folk band. Hilarious!
All the actors are famous well traveled comedians. Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest)and St Hubbins (Micheal McKean) were on SNL. Harry Shearer played the bass player was on SNL and many other comedy shows. They've done a whole slew of spoof movies, but Spinal Tap started it all.
They are just competent enough playing music that they could perform these songs (which is in itself a spoof about 80s Hair Metal).
The guitars were from a real collection from Norman’s Rare Guitars.
Christopher Guest has done some brilliant mockumentories, waiting for Guffman , best in show , a mighty wind ( he is also Lord Hayden Guest and married to Jamie Lee Curtis 😊😊😊😊(
He also played Count Rugan in "The Princess Bride."
@@hanng1242 indeed 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
Oh awesome, thank you for all of these recommendations!
Excuse me. I couldn’t help noticing this strange and interesting comment about Christopher Guest. 😀
@@0okamino Shoop Da Doo 🎶
There is a 4 hour work print version of this film on UA-cam. Or at least there was as of a few of years ago. Haven't rechecked.
I had never seen this. The crazy amount of famous people in this as just little guest bits...was that Ed Begley Jr as the old drummer?
My favourite music comedy is Wallk Hard: the Dewey. Cox story. Not the same style as this though
Thank you for the recommendation!
@@maplenutsreactit’s worth it just for the soundtrack. It being hilarious is just a bonus.
Oh nice. I'm totally sold by a good soundtrack.@@DocLunarwind
People who work in the music biz don't think this is a mockumentary. There is too much overlap with real life, from failling set pieces to backstage dramas.
The 80's touring scene really was the wild west. It is far more corporate and sanitised today. I have witnessed bands lost backstage and set pieces failling to work, necessitating live repairs during a gig. I absolutely love this film!
Happy Valentine's Day to the both of you! Jordan, you're a lucky guy! I don't have anyone special in my life to celebrate this romantic holiday with unfortunately. But as a friendly subscriber to thank you for great content and reactions, a movie ticket for Jordan🎟 and a beautiful rose for the beautiful Shandra!🌹Have a great evening you two!😁
At one point they were at the Glastonbury Festival doing 'Stonehenge'.
They did an album called BREAK LIKE THE WIND
On top of everything else, the three guys were all putting on English accents (and, as a Brit, I can tell you they are pretty damn good ones).
Great reaction, hilarious movie. If you didn't notice, the mimes were Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey! Let's go... mime is money lol
It’s true that mime is money, but it’s very rare to hear the real professionals in the field discuss it.
I highly recommend rewatching the movie with the commentary on, as it's performed by the main cast members in character.
The Electric Banana. Ah the memories.
Christopher Guest (Nigel) is married to Jaimie Lee Curtis. Micheal McKean (David) was on Laverne And Shirley and Better Call Saul. Harry Shearer (Derek) voices a few Simpsons characters.
I saw Spinal Tap live in '92. When they did Stonehedge the audience never saw the prop- it was too big for the stage.
There were Letterman appearances by them in character. And there is DVD commentary in character also.
Here's a pro-tip for those who enjoy TIST. On the DVD audio commentary, the three main actors watch and comment on the movie IN CHARACTER. It is essentially like getting a second helping of This is Spinal Tap but even funnier.
The cucumber in the pants is high level absurdist comedy. Why wrap it in tin foil when you’re going through a metal detector, unless the point is to reveal it to be a cucumber? And who’s the prank for? Just brilliant. 😂
Freshness
Oh, gosh... I guess my most favorite movie/soundtrack combo must be "O, Brother Where Art Thou?".