This Is Spinal Tap (1984) goes to eleven for authenticity
Photo Credit: This is Spinal Tap / Embassy Pictures Mockumentaries are a difficult genre to pull off. It's difficult for a studio or director to successfully parody a person or event without becoming too much of a farce itself. Not many are able to get passed an audience's lie detector. Director Rob Reiner earned all the respect and acclaim in the world for making This Is Spinal Tap, even if it isn't an instant favorite of mine. Following a fictional British heavy metal band called Spinal Tap, a crew documents the group's contention as their recent U.S. tour comes apart at the guitar strings. It's your typical decline of a rock band with a story centered around their new album failing to gain sales, canceling tour dates, and their antics on-stage/off-stage. Comedy itself is a hard thing to define; how do you describe what makes you laugh. With Spinal Tap , for me, it's the ridiculous amount of small details is what makes this flick an understandable cl...