Pros 1. This movie is full of memorable quotes like Nigels "there's such a thin line between clever and stupid" or Spinal Tap manager Ian hand-waving the band's decreasing turnout at concerts by explaining Spinal Tap's appeal is just becoming selective.
2. This movie has some of the funniest visual gags I've ever seen like the disastrous Stonehenge model in danger of being squashed by a Dwarf or Derek being trapped in a pod.
3. The soundtrack is phenomenal: for a fake band they sure put real effort into the songs and they're all good.
4. The Spinal Tap 3 all work well together and have great chemistry. It's no wonder the 3 have continued to work together, not just as Spinal Tap but also in Christopher Guest mockumentaries.
5. The movie has great brief appearances from people like Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Billy Crystal, Howard Hesseman, Paul Benedict (Spinal Tap was released during The Jefferson's 10th and penultimate season) and Paul Schaffer (reuniting with Harry Shearer after they were SNL cast members in the Fall 1979 - Spring 1980 season).
6. Best Line Derek: (after a big argument about a poorly-designed Stonehenge model caused the manager to quit the band) Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we going to do Stonehenge tomorrow? David: No we're not f---ing going to do Stonehenge!
Cons 1. I never understood the logic of the director asking David & Nigel if they're racist since they're music is usually only favored by Caucasians. That makes as much sense to me as asking the CEO of Toys R Us if he's prejudiced against adults because his company's products are popular with children.
2. During the Stonehenge argument, Ian is listing all the things he does for the band and one of them is "prizing rent from the local Hebrews". I know he's upset about being nagged by the other guys but that's not an excuse for using this tired anti-semitic stereotype about Jews being obsessed with money and charging excessively high rates.
3. When Janine butts in to the Stonehedge argument, Ian responds "this is a band meeting, is she now part of the band?" If the meeting is band only, why is the film crew allowed to attend?
2. This movie has some of the funniest visual gags I've ever seen like the disastrous Stonehenge model in danger of being squashed by a Dwarf or Derek being trapped in a pod.
3. The soundtrack is phenomenal: for a fake band they sure put real effort into the songs and they're all good.
4. The Spinal Tap 3 all work well together and have great chemistry. It's no wonder the 3 have continued to work together, not just as Spinal Tap but also in Christopher Guest mockumentaries.
5. The movie has great brief appearances from people like Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Billy Crystal, Howard Hesseman, Paul Benedict (Spinal Tap was released during The Jefferson's 10th and penultimate season) and Paul Schaffer (reuniting with Harry Shearer after they were SNL cast members in the Fall 1979 - Spring 1980 season).
6. Best Line Derek: (after a big argument about a poorly-designed Stonehenge model caused the manager to quit the band) Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we going to do Stonehenge tomorrow? David: No we're not f---ing going to do Stonehenge!
Cons 1. I never understood the logic of the director asking David & Nigel if they're racist since they're music is usually only favored by Caucasians. That makes as much sense to me as asking the CEO of Toys R Us if he's prejudiced against adults because his company's products are popular with children.
2. During the Stonehenge argument, Ian is listing all the things he does for the band and one of them is "prizing rent from the local Hebrews". I know he's upset about being nagged by the other guys but that's not an excuse for using this tired anti-semitic stereotype about Jews being obsessed with money and charging excessively high rates.
3. When Janine butts in to the Stonehedge argument, Ian responds "this is a band meeting, is she now part of the band?" If the meeting is band only, why is the film crew allowed to attend?