This Is Spinal Tap

Where the acclaim for the mockumentary (self-deemed "rockumentary") film THIS IS SPINAL TAP came from, I don't know. Perhaps the film is too topical to be very funny anymore. I'm sure that the hair, pants and other attire of the fake rock n' roll band Spinal Tap was quite appealing to people during the time of those thing's popularity. But frankly, that type of person doesn't exist anymore, and isn't part of the modern American pantheon of culture. The cowboy doesn't exist anymore, but it's still a present figure in our minds, the American rocker however, seems less present, and more nostalgic than anything else. THIS IS SPINAL TAP parades itself as a documentary by a foolish young director (played by Rob Reiner, who actually directed) who heard the band Spinal Tap once, and decided to make a movie about them. This is all supposed to be quite funny as we follow the obviously crappy rock band around on their tour. But they seem to have gotten lucky a long time ago, and that luck has run out, except that the band still sees themselves as defining or important. The film then proceeds to essentially make fun of these fake people. It looks down upon them as they go from a few thousand showing up at their shows to playing at puppet shows. It gets quite boring, as the film gets extremely repetitive and although seeing some of the actors in wigs and fake mustaches was appealing at first, that novelty grows old. Most of the jokes that do work only work because they could have worked in a different setting. The fake band Spinal Tap grows annoying and pathetic. For a music lover, it feels like a waste of time to care about a group of people who think they're the best and play terrible music. Added to that, these people don't even exist, so there isn't any underlaying truth to what's going on; as there usually is that element in real documentaries. If the film is supposed to be funny because it satirizes that period's rock and roll stars well, it doesn't do anything else very well. It isn't funny without knowledge or misplaced affection for that time, it's poorly shot, and its not even as funny as later, more universal mockumentaries. Watching this film was like being with someone getting drunk for the first time: acting how they think drunk people should, or must act. The same is true of these "rockers", spewing quasi-philisophical trash and then repurposing it as funny. Even if it is "authentic", then isn't that just annoying? We are already aware that, say, Paris Hilton is a ditz, so why would anyone want to make a movie about her and imitate her. It's like seeing a shoddy imitation of the real thing. Consider BEST IN SHOW, which is a universally entertaining and funny film to see rather than this overrated mockumentary.
This Is Spinal Tap: ★1/2