HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is a legacy sequel, coming forty-one years after This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and while the jokes are funny and the performers are all on point, the film doesn’t offer anything new.
Directed by Rob Reiner, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues tells the story of the fake classic rock band Spinal Tap reuniting to play one last show. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer play the three members of Spinal Tap.
Last week’s review: Splitsville
This Is Spinal Tap is a classic mockumentary, popularizing the genre wider than ever before. Meant to mimic the style of a rock documentary, the film parodied the foibles and arrogance of classic rock stars and the glam/hard rock ethos. The film blurred the lines between fact and fiction in part by having Reiner play documentary filmmaker Martin DiBergi in a film that the real Reiner was directing; he reprises his role in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
Whereas This Is Spinal Tap was important in its form, style, and perspective, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues ultimately becomes more a collection of jokes than a satire with a point of view. What is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues saying about fading rock stars, the music scene in 2025, or anything current or relevant to the communities their characters would be a part of? Nothing significant. Does Spinal Tap II: The End Continues reinvent the mockumentary as a genre? No, not at all…