This Is Spinal Tap (1984) First Time Watching! Movie Reaction!

[@Danimals_as_liters]

Apparently several musicians and bands have said this movie is spot on about the industry. Absurdity and all.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

To the point that several 70's/early 80's bands have tried to "take credit" for being the biggest inspiration to the fictional band.

[@SuddenReal]

Let's see... Ozzy Osbourne didn't understand why people were laughing during the movie when he went to see it, since it was all so relatable. Lenny Kravitz banned this movie from his tourbus because it was too accurate. The Smashing Pumpkins once got lost in the backstage. U2 got stuck in a giant lemon once during their concert. I'm sure there are a lot more examples on why this "fails" as a mockumentary, which makes it actually so much better.

[@konowd]

Absolutely, a lot of rock musicians didn’t laugh the first time they saw it, it was too close to home

[@DavidB-2268]

​@konowd and yet, by the end of the eighties, when I was a tour manager, it was a tour bus staple.

[@Kverkele]

There are countless bands that have made "Black" album.

[@44excalibur]

The incident with the Stonehenge prop was based on something that actually happened to Black Sabbath, only in reverse. Sabbath had ordered a Stonehenge prop for a stage show, but the set designer accidentally built the prop in meters rather than feet, and the prop ended up being too big for the stage. 🤣

[@Fishmorph]

Actually, this movie came out the same year as the Black Sabbath incident, but this was filmed first and without foreknowledge of it.

[@Madbandit77]

@@Fishmorph Fiction is stranger than real life, I guess.🤔

[@frankthespank]

I love how in the sequel “The Return of Spinal Tap” the Stonehenge prop was actually too big to fit through the doors of where the concert they were playing was! The whole song the crew was sawing and beating on just the top wedge of the Stonehenge prop to try and get it through the door 😆🤣

[@Stogie2112]

@@Fishmorph…Black Sabbath’s “Born Again” Tour was in 1983. “This is Spinal Tap” was released in 1984. According to Wikipedia, Black Sabbath’s Stonehenge issues were indeed spoofed by the film. [[The set would be lampooned in Rob Reiner's 1984 rock music mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, with the band having the opposite problem of having to use miniature Stonehenge stage props. Butler has said that he told the associate scriptwriter of the film the story of the band's performances with their "Stonehenge" stage props. In an interview for the documentary Black Sabbath: 1978-1992, Gillan claims Don Arden had the dwarf walk across the top of the Stonehenge props at the start of the show and, as the tape of the screaming baby faded away, fall back "from about thirty-five feet in the air on this big pile of mattresses. And then, 'Dong!' The bells start and the monks come out, the whole thing. Pure Spinal Tap." ]]

[@gelsol]

The Rock n' Roll Creation "pod" scene is based off an incident that happened to prog band YES, where drummer Alan White got stuck in a big clamshell (it might have been a crab, I can't remember) that encapsulated his drumkit.

[@RobynHoodeofSherwood]

Best In Show is another mockumentary about dog shows that Christopher Guest and Michael Mckean did.

[@kennethfharkin]

Having grown up in the 80s in the dog show world I can tell you it is as accurate a depiction of the insanity of that world as Spinal Tap was of the rock world. Everyone I knew from them loves to laugh at the truth in the depiction.

[@Video_Crow]

also, "Waiting for Guffman" and "A Mighty Wind" - excellent Christopher Guest mockumentaries.

[@dt0rk]

@@Video_Crow Those are all excellent films but A mighty wind is my favourite of them.

[@jessiegarcia6849]

I would love for them to react to “Best in Show”. My favorite mockumentary.

[@RobynHoodeofSherwood]

​@@kennethfharkin Thank you! I often wondered how close it was to reality in the dog show world.

[@44excalibur]

Alice Cooper once said that "there's a little Spinal Tap in all of us," because there are too many things going on in this movie that you just can't make up, and that Cooper himself admitted he has "seen happen" with rock bands. 🤣

[@Madbandit77]

Chris Frantz of the new wave rock band , Talking Heads, noted that he couldn't take himself seriously after he saw the film. The late Kurt Cobain felt there weren't any good rock documentaries, yet his Nirvana bandmate Dave Grohl noted Spinal Tap and Kurt had to agree.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

Jeff Beck was clearly the inspiration for Nigel Tufnel, and when Jeff was asked if he had seen the movie he replied, *"Over a hundred times."*

[@peroskarstorholm4196]

I beg to differ. There’s at least 80% of Spinal Tap in any human being at all times. You only need to be in a car with someone for a few hrs to see why,

[@dq405]

For those of us who saw this in 1984, one of the film's great pleasures was the parade of well-known faces from TV shows -- not only Reiner himself, but Paul Benedict, Patrick Macnee, Howard Hesseman, Billy Crystal....

[@Madbandit77]

Paul Shaffer, June Chadwick, Fred Willard...

[@chefskiss6179]

Bruno Kirby, the chauffeur 😂 was Clemenza in Godfather2 and the best friend in When Harry Met Sally.

[@TylerD288]

Paul Benedict surprised me when I saw this for the first time. Good ole "Bentley" from The Jeffersons.

[@googlesucks2449]

That's Dana Carvey as the first mime.

[@Serai3]

Paul Shafer from the Late Show as Artie Fufkin.

[@gishgali8354]

About ten years after this movie, the actors released a new album as Spinal Tap called Break Like The Wind and toured. I saw them at Radio City Music Hall and it was amazing. The bass player is Harry Shearer who does a ton of voices on the Simpsons. Nigel is played by Christopher Guest who would go on to write and direct several great mockumentaries like Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. David is played by Michael McKean who played Jimmy's brother Chuck on Better Call Saul.

[@kennethfharkin]

Don’t forget they went on to make the movie A Mighty Wind about the folk music scene and created their own folk band The Folksmen for that film. They have been known to perform as both

[@vermithax]

I saw them on that tour!

[@zatoichi1]

And also they released another album in 2012, Back From the Dead.

[@janleonard3101]

Does no one remember Laverne and Shirley?

[@kennethfharkin]

@@janleonard3101 THANK YOU!!!! To me he is always Lenny.

[@LordVolkov]

"I'd be so afraid if I was their current drummer" The recurring joke of dead drummers and their mysterious deaths is one of my favorite parts of Spinal Tap.

[@mikepaulus4766]

Back when I still used Facebook I had Drummer for Spinal Tap as my occupation.

[@Stuart_Cox1969]

MTV did a special about looking for a drummer for Spinal Tap, funny.

[@0okamino]

It’s just a shame that forensic science had not yet advanced to the level of being able to dust for vomit.

[@Stogie2112]

Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins (Also in "Better Call Saul") Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel (The Six-Fingered Count Rugen in "The Princess Bride") The legendary Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls (Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, etc.) The late, great Howard Hesseman as Terry Ladd (Duke Fame's Manager) Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal as the Mimes

[@DaedBoi]

Fran Drescher and Anjelica Huston?

[@Stogie2112]

@@DaedBoi ...Yeah....them, too.

[@jeffrogers2180]

And Paul Shaffer

[@mattruff-re4bm]

and all of them are playing those instruments and singing.i have the cd

[@DaedBoi]

@@Stogie2112 you really like ellipses...

[@thrawn5k]

Fun fact: Dana Carvey is the other mime waiter aside from Billy Crystal

[@beatles23]

i just learned something.

[@jasonm8017]

Nice, I thought so. Never looked it up to confirm.

[@TheGoodChap]

Clemenza from the godfather part 2 is the taxi driver

[@GeoffNelson]

Best line in the movie: "We'd love to stay and chat but we have to go sit in the lobby and wait for the limo."

[@konowd]

They were still booing him when we were onstage…

[@macheesmo3]

Best line- " you can't dust for vomit "

[@spicy321]

My favorite line too.

[@Nasty-Canasta]

"Id feel a lot worse if I wasn't under such heavy sedation"

[@victorsixtythree]

When this first came out, "mockumentaries" weren't really a thing yet. A lot of people just didn't get it - some even asked Rob Reiner why he chose such a terrible band to do a documentary about.

[@JuandeFucaU]

6 years before this movie............. Eric Idle's The Rutles was another mock-rockumentary.

[@zenarcher9633]

My favorite fact about The Rutles is that John loved it and Paul hated it. That must have made George, who was involved in it's production, very happy!

[@mistrdevine]

It IS a real band. As much as Gwar, Slipknot, KISS, any band that puts on a persona.

[@EdwardGregoryNYC]

@@JuandeFucaU Also, The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run," and Albert Brook's "Real Life."

[@blacbraun]

I didn't like it when I first saw it. I didn't get it. It was ahead of it's time. It's great stuff!

[@andrewreisinger6860]

"Best in Show" is a must-watch!! Same group of actors. Mockumentary of dog shows. Absolutely hysterical!

[@RussellCHall]

Plus some wonderful additions like Eugene Levy , Catherine O'Hara, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge , Parker Posey, the list goes on, they should def do all the Guest Mockumentary films

[@nellgwenn]

@@RussellCHall He's got two left feet.

[@jessiegarcia6849]

“God bless a terrier” 🎶

[@nellgwenn]

@@jessiegarcia6849 There's a pet store down the stairs? What are you, a wizard a genius?

[@jamesoblivion]

A Mighty Wind, as well, where the members of Spinal Tap go folk and play The Folksmen. They even played some live shows as Spinal Tap, where they opened for themselves as The Folksmen. 😆

[@pablozee6359]

Yes, these are full length songs and albums are available. The songs are written and performed by the three main stars, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. They actually have two Spinal Tap albums that are worth listening to - funny and well conceived and performed considering it’s music made by comedic writers/actors.

[@jimtatro6550]

“That’s lovely, what’s it called?” “Oh, I call this piece Lick My Love Pump.”😂 One of the most quotable movies ever

[@Serai3]

"None more black" is one that gets overlooked but is one of the funniest lines in the movie.

[@kh884488]

It goes to 11.

[@ilionreactor1079]

9:43 "It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever." Even more true today.

[@peroskarstorholm4196]

Always been 100% true.

[@blankgen78]

YESSS! One of my absolute favorites ! I hope this leads to Best In Show !

[@Veg-E-Dog]

In 1992, in one of the greatest stunts ever performed by a band, Spinal Tap did a true coast-to-coast cross Canada tour (3 cities, 3,121 miles/5,023 kilometers) IN A SINGLE DAY! It was Canada Day (July 1), and 1992 marked Canada's 125th birthday. To celebrate in style (and as part of "The Great Canadian Party"), the band first played Quidi Vidi Park in St. John's, Newfoundland in the early morning. They then hopped a flight to play Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario (north of Toronto) in the afternoon. Finally, they flew to Vancouver, British Columbia for a late evening show at UBC Thunderbird Stadium. It required crossing 7 different time zones and a whole ton of energy to get the shows in, but an incredible feat and a whole lot of fun. (footage of this can be found on KZbin, for anyone interested)

[@jazzx251]

This can't be true. But if it is (it is - I can just tell by your enthusiasm Veg-E!) - then it's entirely in keeping with these legends of music (and comedy acting) 1992 was when I received Spinal Tap's seminal "Break Like the Wind" cassette for my birthday The first time I came into contact with the prophetic phrase .. "... and will our voices be heard? Or will they break! - like the wind?"

[@wendellwiggins3776]

The actors were all fairly well known then or became known later. They wrote and performed the music themselves. The dialogue was mostly improvised too. Many of the scenarios are inspired by the experiences of different 70s & 80's Rock bands. They did go on Tour, performing the songs. Also, I was a crowd Extra in the film during the Army base scene & recognizable in a couple of shots. We had no idea that Spinal Tap would become a Cult Classic

[@bune-kwai]

“S#!t Sandwich” is still one of my favorite quotes of all time! 😂 I still use it all the time!

[@Stu-Vino]

You can't print that!

[@jasongoodacre]

"Dresses like an Australians nightmare" - always cracks me up

[@jazzx251]

"I prise the rent out of the local Hebrews!"

[@jasongoodacre]

@@kbrewski1 sorry, you are correct 😃

[@victorsixtythree]

3:35 - I remember we rented this movie (on VHS!) and were watching it when my sister came in the room and heard Fran Drescher's voice and said "That woman's voice! It's awful!". We laughed and said "this is a fake documentary...that's not her real voice!" Turns out we were wrong...LOL.

[@Video_Crow]

Funny thing is, that's NOT her real voice. There's a clip here on KZbin from the Nanny where she drops into her real voice for a few lines after eating wasabi.

[@ianjohns9398]

yeah that's her hollywood/trademark/shtick voice

[@psychoween]

When this came out, everyone thought that Spinal Tap was a real band. They went on talk shows and stayed in character the whole time. The music was actually written and performed by the band. The soundtrack album was released with a completely black cover. The band members are comic writers/actors and so, an outline was written but the dialogue was ad-libbed. A sequel is now in the works. They did release a second album, and have a few singles, "Bitch School" and "Christmas With The Devil." Mtv censored their video for "Bitch School."

[@zatoichi1]

"Christmas with the Devil" is now a part of my annual holiday playlist. They released two albums after the movie, Break Like the Wind (1992) and Back From the Dead (2012). I may be slightly off on the release dates but both are great. The went on tour for Break Like the Wind and had a video on MTV for "Majesty of Rock". There are many interviews on KZbin they did as the band to promote Back From the Dead.

[@artofalmost9479]

@@zatoichi1 You got the Break Like The Wind release date spot on. Back From The Dead released in 2009 which is much longer ago than I remember.

[@michaelw8262]

"Everyone," the way "everyone" thought that Orson Welles' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds was real. Unless they were aware that fiction exists, or in the case of This is Spinal Tap, had seen members of the cast in popular shows like Laverne and Shirley, WKRP in Cincinnati, or All in the Family, and the three main band members joined SNL the year the movie was released. But other than that, sure, everyone thought it was a real band.

[@jamesoblivion]

​@@michaelw8262 Yeah, Michael McKean in particular would've been very recognizable. As would Rob Reiner. Whenever I've heard about individual people believing it was a real band and documentary at the time, it's always been people from outside the US, who weren't necessarily familiar with much American television. But this is a myth that kind of crops up around most any well done mockumentary. I've heard a bunch of people talk about how 'everyone' believed The Blair Witch Project was real in 1999. And no, we didn't. haha Some people did.

[@thomasbanks641]

them getting lost and trying to find the stage is classic

[@trottheblackdog]

This, along with Blues Brothers, constitutes the greatest film experience of musicians. My whole career, we have used one liners from this film. "It goes to eleven!"

[@thomaskelly8580]

The British did the first _rocumentary mockumentary,_ called *_Rutles_*_ All You Need Is Cash_ in 1978. Bit of a *Beatles* send up, and also quite good.

[@adaddinsane]

"Bit of a Beatles send-up"? A *complete* Beatles send-up.

[@Yora21]

I think I saw that one. Was that where they go on the big Tragical History Tour?

[@sarahjane8146]

How did I forget about The Rutles?!? Best “pretend” songs ever, courtesy of Neil Innes. I used to put one on each of my mix tapes. LOL

[@TonyPucci11]

My favorite British rockumentary is “BAD NEWS (on the road” from THE COMIC STRIP (the guys from THE YOUNG ONES).

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

@@TonyPucci11 Mine too, Bad News Tour (1983) and its sequel More Bad News (1987) they were episodes of The Comic Strip Presents (1983-88) TV series.

[@davenoppe5405]

"We've got armadillos in our trousers." A classic line.

[@patrickholt2270]

" 'Undreds of years before the dawn of 'istory, there was... Stone'Enge."

[@martensjd]

"Marty DeBurgy" in the opening is indeed played by Rob Reiner. I grew up watching him in "All in the Family" every week as a kid. That show has many highlights on KZbin.

[@gaz-l621]

Guess this is what Mike did after leaving Gloria

[@Madbandit77]

Marty DeBurgi is a combo name from Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg.

[@Hapsard]

One piece of trivia is that during one of the amnesty international tours with Peter Gabriel and Sarah McLachlan and such they were all sitting around trying to think of songs they could sing together just for fun and the ones they all knew that words to were Spinal Tap songs ... I would love to hear that version of Big Bottom!

[@pickering746]

“There was a Stonehenge monument that was in danger of crushed by a dwarf!” 😂😂😂😂

[@chriswhinery925]

Music was written specifically for the movie but they are full songs and they were played by the actors in the movie. If you listen to it on Spotify it's the actors playing it. Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight is a legit bop.

[@jonathanroberts8981]

They recorded the songs first and the “live” performances are them lip syncing their own work. They said if they’d played things live there would have been small but noticeable differences in tuning and tempo from shot to shot.

[@seansersmylie]

You guys should do Best In Show, I think it's their best and funniest film.

[@LordVolkov]

Best in Show is so funny!

[@KevyNova]

Best In Show nearly made me puke from laughing the first time I watched it!

[@michaelpeuplie6464]

A Mighty Wind is good as well

[@TheAquaponic1]

This is standard homework for all of my guitar students. I don't want any of them embarrassing me by not knowing so many quotes from this. This cast is HUGE. They are all multi-instrument musicians. You need to research this, you will be amazed at who is who.

[@0okamino]

It certainly provides an important lesson for any guitar student; which is that a guitar has to be played for the sustain to be heard. That’s just the sort of confusion you want to clear up right away.

[@theusernameistheuser]

"How are we going to get fourteen people in a 'King Leisure' bed, Tucker?" "Oh-ho-ho - don't tempt me, sir."

[@0okamino]

I have to agree with the desk clerk. I mean, it’s worth a try. Might set a record or something.

[@jjh5374]

Puppet Show And Spinal Tap. If I’ve told them once, I’ve told them a thousand times, it’s Spinal Tap, THEN Puppet Show. Makes me cry with laughter every time.

[@msjackson509]

The lead singer was Charles McGill on "Better Call Saul"... Saul's brother.

[@PerfectHandProductions]

That Stonehenge bit had me in tears the first time.

[@mikethemotormouth]

My favorite part about this movie is the DVD commentary done by Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer in character as David, Nigel and Derek, respectively. For example, Derek explains the reason why he wrapped the cucumber in tinfoil was he was afraid it would grow and graft onto his leg. Hilarious!

[@The_Other_Dan]

The magic of This is Spinal Tap is that it's great when you're watching it but it gets even better when you're thinking and talking about it afterwards. You could kinda see this happening during the discussion after the movie, thinking back and laughing at all the crazy stuff.

[@TalklikeAPirate]

I'll always think of Mckean as Lenny on Laverne and shirley with the TV band Lenny and The Squigtone.

[@TylerD288]

Same until I watched "Better Call Saul".

[@joelake7986]

It's been a long time, but I'm pretty sure "Nigel Tufnel" was credited as guitarist on the Lenny & the Squigtones album.

[@bran1886]

As a fan of heavy metal music, this movie is so good. The Stonehenge joke is based in reality, only it was reversed. The band Black Sabbath had an album come out in 1983 called "Born Again" and they have an instrumental track called "Stonehenge" on the album. Someone got the idea to build a Stonehenge stage set that would be lowered down with a rising sun light show. Well when it came time to build the set, the people building it misread the measurements they wanted as 15 meters instead of 15 feet, so the thing was massive and couldn't fit on the stage. The rising sun light show was scrapped because it was expensive to transport and took a lot of time to setup before the show. So Don Arden who was the band's manger(daughter is Sharon Arden who became Sharon Osbourne)decided they should dress a midget up as the baby from the album cover. So in an early show during the tour in Canada, they had this midget dressed up to climb along this big section of Stonehenge, during a part of the song he was supposed to fall off the set and land on a mattress, well someone moved the mattress and he ended up falling and hitting the stage suffering some severe injuries.

[@sue3317]

Christopher Guest is married to Jaimie Lee Curtis. He inherited the title Baron Haden-Guest when his father died.

[@johnboy2562]

I remember the time Jamie-Lee Curtis accompanied him into the House of Lords, as was his right back then. He's not allowed to sit there anymore, something to do with inherited peerages being abolished, I think.

[@BenjWarrant]

@@johnboy2562 FYI the peerages haven't been abolished but the hereditary peers are no longer allowed to sit in the House of Lords.

[@johnboy2562]

@@BenjWarrant thanks for putting me right on that, I knew it was something along those lines.

[@BenjWarrant]

@@johnboy2562 No worries.

[@norwegianblue2017]

"We'd love to stand around and chat, but we have to sit down in the lobby and wait for the limo." So many low-key gems in this movie.

[@donstuie]

Read any autobiography of a rock band and they'll all tell you they thought this film was about them. Also, the inspiration for the term "going to 11"

[@Stogie2112]

Reiner's films "The Princess Bride" and "This is Spinal Tap" both use dialogue to drive the humor, and they both do it brilliantly!

[@djyanno]

"Authorities said best leave it unsolved." One of my favorite line

[@goreyfantod5213]

The thing to remember about the sometimes off-kilter pacing is that, while they had an outline & premises scripted out, nearly all the dialogue was improvisational. Also, they based the general vibe on Scorsese's documentary about The Band, "The Last Waltz," so the off-beat, awkward, drugged-out, melancholy, tense, waning-hours-of-a-wild-party tone is a direct homage to TLW. Christopher Guest mastered the form with his later mockumentaries (esp. Best In Show & A Mighty Wind), but Reiner's Spinal Tap was the blueprint.

[@frankthespank]

21:36 My hometown (anyone else from NorCal?!)! This scene actually took place at a little local amusement park in Stockton California called “Pixie Woods“. That scene where they’re lost backstage was also filmed in Stockton at University Of the Pacific (UOP). I use to be a technician/sound engineer/“Roadie” for the rock band “Tesla” (they’re from Sacramento) and we regularly quoted this film and believe me this film was VERY accurate about rock star life 😆🤣

[@toddjones1480]

It was Six Flags Magic Mountain. In the first outdoor shot where it says “Themeland Amusement Park, Stockton CA” you can see the Revolution roller coaster, which is still at SFMM. Last I checked the sign with “Puppet Show and Spinal Tap” was still there, too. The theater they played at just after that was also at SFMM, but it was demolished this year.

[@alanmurray5963]

Billy Crystal is the mime......."mime is money" 😆

[@Trendyflute]

And the other mime in the room with him is Dana Carvey!

[@mikefetterman6782]

That guy is Fred Willard. Another sketch comedy king.

[@paulymar5996]

"You can't really dust for vomit."

[@dsfddsgh]

You can now with DNA testing. 🤣🤣

[@TheGabrielAmerican]

The Edge, guitarist for U2, was asked when was the last time he cried. He answered, when I saw Spinal Tap because it’s all true😂

[@chadwickvon8019]

Hope you're feeling better, Sam. I freaking love this movie. Hope y'all enjoyed it too.

[@CallsignEskimo-l3o]

There are some great cameos on this movie like Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey and Bruno Kirby.

[@zmarko]

29:51 to answer your question, all of the band Michael Mckean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest are all accomplished musicians and recorded all the music themselves. There is a full soundtrack for the film of songs from throughout the bands' career. There's also a 2nd album they put out in 1990-ish called Break Like the Wind. Also, for the record, you may recognize Michael Mckean as Lenny of "Lenny and Squiggy" fame from the historic tv show Laverne & Shirley. He was also i tons of other things (Airheads, SNL, and much more). Christooher Guest was in The Princess Bride (6 fingered man), A Few Good Men (the Dr who cleared Santiago), and has been married to Jamie Lee Curtis since the early 80s. Harry Shearer has been countless characters on The Simpsons (principal Skinner, Mr Burns, and a shit ton of others). Incredibly talented guys.

[@jonathanroberts8981]

I saw Guest in National Lampoon’s “Lemmings”, with John Belushi and Chevy Chase. He portrayed Bob Dylan and others in a really funny parody.

[@jazzx251]

"And may our voices be heard ... as we BREAK LIKE THE WIND!"

[@BattleMatt]

The manager is Tony Hedra who wrote for and worked at National Lampoon in the 70's alongside Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and others.

[@jrgilby]

Being a musician, and knowing many other musicians, this is easily in the top 10 movies of a musicians, and being able to quote it is a rite of passage. Another musician favorite: The Commitments.

[@willvr4]

I turned the volume of my speakers up to 11 for this Reaction.

[@craigorr9713]

From an interview of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant: Q: "What scenes from Spinal Tap hit home?" RP: "Getting lost on the way to the stage. That was us, playing in Baltimore. It took twenty-five minutes to do the hundred yards from our Holiday Inn through the kitchen to the arena."

[@briancooper1412]

Tom Petty had a show in Germany where he went to go onstage and ended up at an indoor tennis court.

[@44excalibur]

This is Spinal Tap was for the rock music industry what Tropic Thunder would later be for the Hollywood film industry.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

Tropic thunder is full on camp. Spinal Tap essentially takes a naturalistic setting and puts a satirically stupid rock band into it. They aren't in on the joke while many others laugh at them.

[@44excalibur]

@@ryanjacobson2508 True, but both movies attempt to do the same thing, which is to take the piss out of Hollywood and the music industry.

[@donstuie]

Also, if you want to see a real-life Spinal Tap documentary, check out "Anvil!: The Story of Anvil", where an actual band (who ironically has a member called Robb Reiner) goes through a very similar experience and comeback.

[@MrRyguy2112]

Lol it was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf! Gets me every time!😂

[@MarioCrosby]

Great reaction as always. I've never left a comment actually thanking for reacting to "Miracle." I believe there have been only two that have done it. Probably the greatest sports movie out there, so I don't understand why, but thanks for doing it.

[@tomchesley2604]

And so begins the Reinerverse (the hat he is wearing hangs on the wall of the little boys room in "The Princess Bride") This also spawns the Christopher Guestiverse. Christopher Guest (Nigel) was the six fingered man and the doctor in "A Few Good Men". Guest continues the Mockumentary genre in his filmography. It starts with "Waiting For Guffman", "Best In Show", "A Mighty Wind" and "For Your Consideration" These are entertaining and fun watches. I wouldn't call it a universe but this also spawns the Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby solar system as they also appear in Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally" and later in "City Slickers".

[@mr.a8315]

Fab reaction, guys! 😂😂😂 A real classic, so massively re-watchable. I saw Spinal Tap live at Wembley in 1991, they were among the guest bands playing with Queen at the tribute concert for Freddie Mercury, who had sadly passed. They were great!

[@LordEriolTolkien]

Dave St Hubbins played Lenny of Lenny and Squiggy '' Lenny and the Squigtones'' fame who became recurring characters in Laverne and Shirley in the 70's

[@markcatanzaro9699]

Nigel Tufnel, played by Christopher Guest- was also The 6 Fingered Man in Princess Bride, & the courtroom Dr in A Few Good Men- among MANY other things. I believe he actually has Royal lineage- as his brother, who played the Griswolds neighbor in Christmas Vacation- is some kind of Duke

[@thewonkyembouchure]

Regrettably, Guest is connected to the (outdated) hereditary British peerage system (nobility), being the 5th Baron Haden-Guest.

[@markcatanzaro9699]

@@thewonkyembouchure tyvm I stand corrected

[@ilionreactor1079]

8:55 "These go to eleven" immediately entered the zeitgeist.

[@LordEriolTolkien]

at least 50% of the dialogue is ad lib such was the strength of their characters. They had played those characters for so long together they could, and still can, just fall into character at the drop of a hat, and are actually really good musicians

[@garylee3685]

The movie was improvised. There is around 90 minutes of unused footage available to view. The band are actors that are actually writing and playing their own songs. They are currently shooting a sequel. At Elvis's gravesight (recreated) they were singing Heartbreak Hotel, his first national hit. It was the only song of his they could get the rights to.

[@Raven5150]

Mick Fleetwood is officially a drummer for spinal tap during a one of tv concert in the 2000s

[@tubularap]

3:40 - "Sir Denis Eton-Hogg" = (I think stands for) Sir Dan Is Eating Hog

[@thannaske5371]

Being the drummer for Spinal Tap is like being the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead!

[@stsolomon618]

Spinal Tap, wow! Glad you guys are reacting to this. On the poll I saw Duel and Citizen Kane, highly recommend watching those as well.

[@TwinComet]

The music was made by the actors since they all knew how to play instruments. Even though they started as a parody they did release a couple albums under the Spinal Tap name and have toured sporadically through the decades. There is a sequel to the film which expands the lore, adds more bands by the same people, and serves as a live album.

[@USCFlash]

23:29 Her eyes when the drummer spontaneously combusted 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@JohnD-scaledecks]

For me, the most amazing thing in this film was the talent of Christopher Guest, who played Nigel "it goes to 11" Tufnel - also played Count "six-fingered man" Ruger in Princess Bride. Very, VERY talented. This was the first of the "mocumentaries" with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer (and lots of the supporting cast.) Others include Best in Show (about a dog show), Waiting for Guffman (small town theater), For Your Consideration, (Hollywood and Academy Awards) and The Mighty Wind (PBS-style documentary on folk music bands). For a super-amazing contrast, look at The Mighty Wind - the same three members (Guest, McKean, Shearer) play an aging Folk Band from the 1960s. The music here - in a totally different genre - is just as brilliant and enjoyable as in this film. A perfect companion for Spinal Tap!

[@bodyjar78]

Fun fact: the hat Rob Reiner wears is in the background of Fred Savage's bedroom in The Princess Bride. Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits would only agree to do the soundtrack for Princess Bride if Reiner included the hat somewhere 😂

[@ilionreactor1079]

22:09 "Hope you enjoy our new direction." You guys weren't around in the 1970's when some bands would do left-turn albums and crash their careers. Frampton's "I'm in You" comes to mind; it took him 30 years to live that one down. Sometimes it worked, like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.

[@guitarman8462]

They can actually play and were in concert. Also ' Spinal Tap 2 " is in the making. Also " Spinal Tap " was in " The Simpons ".

[@Madbandit77]

Spinal Tap 2 recently finished filming and is currently in post-production.

[@guitarman8462]

@Madbandit77 I wonder what the trailer is going to be ?

[@jazzx251]

@@Madbandit77 how exciting!

[@aarrgghh]

@7:53 -- harry shearer may have lifted his overstuffed trousers gag from one of the many stage personas of "the tubes" frontman fee waybill, whose glam rocker "quay lewd" character had a "hard" time keeping the head of his considerable foam member from peeking out the end of his silver lamé thong, a sight i had the opportunity to see strutting live onstage many decades ago in nyc's village.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

I love The Tubes, so underrated.

[@grumpyoldgraymetalhead2441]

Saw these guys in concert back in the summer of ‘92, what a fun night! People brought props . One guy had a mini Stonehenge. One group of about five guys had cucumbers wrapped n tin foil lol. The opening act was a local band called Big Nazo, that was known for dressing as all kinds of weird monster puppets on stage! When Tap came on, Derek Smalls ( Harry Shearer) said “this time the puppet show opened for us!”

[@peggykunkel9180]

Musicians love this movie because so much of it is true to life. Christopher Guest (Nigel) has directed some great mockumentaries. My favorite is Best in Show.

[@69coolchris]

If you enjoyed this, you'll also love The Rutles - All you need is Cash (1978) which is another mockumentary and is a parody of The Beatles career.

[@bluegypsy71]

IT GOES TO 11😂❤

[@Crazyhorrse]

Out of all the funny parts this is easily me favorite in the whole movie and I have worked in going to 11 at times over the years and nobody ever gets it lol. The small details are my favorite like the doubley thing. I wish they put in more funny part involving the girlfriend because everyone knows exactly how annoying that situation is in real life, everyone's had the experience dealing with the friend's GF or BF no one likes.

[@eddhardy1054]

Hi guys, great reaction. My favourite facts about this film are that the people who played Spinal Tap's drummer & keyboardist were actually in two 70s rock bands (Atomic Rooster & Rare Bird). Also the Stonehenge thing is kinda based on something that happened to Black Sabbath and the scene with Nigel playing his guitar with a violin and his feet are referencing 70s axemen like Jimmy Page & Ritchie Blackmore.

[@davidmckie7128]

If I remember correctly, they first appeared on an ABC show in 1979. There was a sountrack album to this film.

[@williewilliams6571]

And this is where we get "turn it up to 11". Yes, the soundtrack is available. They even did a second album: "Break like the Wind".

[@laudanum669]

It's amazing how many of actors cameo's TBR missed.

[@JohnBham]

Fun info: after all these years, some of the 'band members' still do appearances AS the band, and a few days before the show they place ads in local papers for a drummer- and hopefuls still show up for tryouts. And to this day, I can almost guarantee you every band member from the big ones to the newest garage band know about 'turning it up to 11'. (You can, in fact, buy knobs for guitars and amps that go from 1-11.) After note: the soundtrack album is THE BOMB, and there is in fact a second Spinal Tap album titled "Break Like the Wind".

[@__RYN__]

5:55 Forgot Fran Drescher is this one of my crushes and highlights of my childhood

[@zmarko]

One of the greatest comedies ever made. And most of it was improvised. When I got the Criterion Collection DVD of this in the late 90s/early 00s, it came with like 90 mins of bonus scenes. I believe that's all on the blu-ray these days and it's awesome to watch if you have time.

[@LordToddtastic666]

The greatest rockumentary ever made! It's still as funny now as it was when I first saw it 40 years ago. A magnificent piece of improv comedy, which led to greats like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and Waiting for Guffman. A true classic

[@CathleenMJennings80]

First off, all the songs were written by the 3 leads and Rob Reiner. They are SO good. There was so much improvisation going on, I wish you knew that before you watched it - it adds so much to the movie! And, I was kind of shocked you guys didn't call out Billy Crystal (the head mime at that party) - I thought you would! And, you saw Fran Drescher - well, on her tv show, they had an episode where her Spinal Tap character came to Mr. Sheffield's house (and The Nanny met her, of course) - good old 90s split screen comedy. Rob Reiner has done such unique and varying films! This, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men, Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, etc etc! - yet he'll always be known as "Meathead" to me ;) All in the Family was a groundbreaking 70s sitcom and Rob was the hippie son-in-law. If you ever catch a rerun, I recommend watching it!

[@shsrpr]

29:37 They're all actually musicians. They wrote the songs, and they played and sang them. The soundtrack to the movie is awesome to listen to. It's a really great album with a variety of different styles.

[@mistrdevine]

You need to watch A Mighty Wind now. Back when Spinal tap played shows, the Folksmen would be the opening act. The crowd would boo them off, they’d go backstage and change costumes, returning to the stage as Spinal Tap.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

I saw them live, supported by The Folksmen 😅

[@jwoodard29]

I loved the Stonehenge moment. Michael McKean is a great talent. Acting credits include "Better Call Saul," "Homeland," "24," and "Smallville." He and his Smallville co-star and wife Annette O'Toole received an Oscar nomination for best original song back in 2004.

[@darlenereed4975]

Also played Lenny on Laverne and Shirley, lol.

[@Stogie2112]

4:20 A young Peter Clemenza as the Limo driver! 😉😉

[@catherinelw9365]

I thought that! 😄

[@patrickflanagan3762]

Bruno Kirby, who Reiner worked with again in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY

[@Stogie2112]

@@patrickflanagan3762 ... Bruno was great as the hapless, unfunny Lieutenant in "Good Morning Vietnam".

[@nicholashylton6857]

Yep. The actors (and Rob Reiner) wrote & played the songs. They are legitimate musicians and even did a few tours as "Spinal Tap" in the '90s and early 2000s(?).