Music, rock and roll, Paul McCartney, and cheese all in one movie, what more could you want? In the newly released sequel of “This is Spinal Tap”, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” will have you jamming out and laughing hysterically, maybe even make you a bit hungry as well.
Reuniting after 15 years, Spinal Tap is once again the center of the spotlight as they are requested to perform one last show as part of their contract with their late manager’s daughter, or because, as part of the “Elvis Effect”, someone has to die to secure their legacy in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Marti Di Bergi, the interviewer of the documentary, travels to England to reunite with the band members, who have all lived their lives with no contact due to the tension caused by the breakup of the band in the first place — unrealistic dreams and differing thoughts and ideas.
“I don’t miss the friction,” Nigel says, who was the former lead guitarist of Spinal Tap. After the breakup, Nigel is now the owner of a guitar and cheese shop with his supportive girlfriend. Passionately selling cheese and guitars, with occasional exchanges of guitars for cheese and cheese for guitars, Nigel is forced to reunite with the band once more, for which he “[feels] nervous. The people part of it.”
David, former guitarist and lead vocalist of Spinal Tap, is still present in the music business as he is a recipient of the “Holdee”- An award for the best holding music. On top of that, he has his own podcast, makes music for films, and makes appearances in occasional gigs like mariachi bands!
Former bass player of Spinal Tap, Derek, is the owner of a glue museum in London. As strange a museum as it is, part of the reason why he made such a museum was because of how Spinal Tap disbanded. Not only is it because of his strange interest in century-old glue, but he also believes glue “keeps people together.” As Derek was the middleman of the previous feuds of Spinal Tap, Di Bergi adds, “You kept the band together.”
After flying out to New Orleans, the band members are forced to stay in a haunted hotel, which is a tourist attraction and often gets interrupted by tourists and constant haptic noises. Getting annoyed by the presence of tourists and each other, things don’t look so good for the return of Spinal Tap. On top of that, they hired a new promoter for the band who is not an enjoyer of music.
Simon Howler, unenthusiastically trying to promote the band’s return and manage profits, does so by sharing some of his interesting ideas, which reveal he has no passion for music whatsoever, as he believes, “it’s not meant to be fun—it’s the music business.”
Some of his ideas consist of serving “Tap Water”, a container consisting of plain tap water. Another idea is to kill off one of the band members on stage during their final performance, as it will create remembrance of the performance and maybe even land them a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After hearing such an outrageous idea, David politely rejects Howler’s idea, saying, “You’re legendary, but I don’t want to die.”
Throughout the movie, there were quite a few guest appearances, such as Lars Ulrich, Paul McCartney, and Elton John. They each had very minor roles in the movie, but it was quite unexpected and very pleasing to see, as they weren’t just sticking to one specific music genre.
Having Paul McCartney walk in on Spinal Tap’s rehearsal was meant to be a way to open their eyes towards working together, as they were feuding before; however, it turned into disrespecting Paul McCartney despite him praising their music, calling it “literature.” He then remarks, “Is it always like this..?”
While performing their final show, they included Elton John to sing along with them, having a whole performance behind them consisting of dancers, due to Howler asking, “Where’s the movement?” despite their old age and inability to move much anymore.
Unexpectedly, one of the dancers bumps into a huge prop, landing on everyone but the drummer, thus breaking the curse of the Spinal Tap drummer always dying or getting into a freak accident, and the rest of Spinal Tap and Elton John ending up in the hospital.
Spinal Tap doesn’t get nearly as much recognition as it deserves, as many people who’ve been asked about the movie have never heard of it before, one even saying, “I thought it was a medical operation” before being informed it was a movie.
It feels as if the movie didn’t get enough advertising, as there have not been many ads played on TV or even social media, and instead, it’s just a word on the street.
People should really go out to the theater and see this movie, as it is an interesting concept and a unique style of movie. If you are a music lover, you will love this movie with the songs being decently good, despite them being unserious and the amount of references to various musical themes, including musicians like Elton John and Paul McCartney.
The movie is also surprisingly informative as you watch how music production happens and the whole organization of making a concert happen.