After the firestorm of discussion about another Rob Reiner film, I’m returning to his catalog for the next installment in my ‘Great Scenes’ series.
Pound for pound, This is Spinal Tap is probably the funniest movie I have ever seen. The laughs are constant, and they come in all different forms — one-liners, sight gags, absurb situations and simply the hilarious behavior of the airheaded metal-rock has-beens in their natural habitat. I can quote this movie line-for-line, start to finish.
You’d think something like this would be easy… gather a bunch of talented comic actors, put them in funny costumes and let them go. And yet nobody has come close to duplicating the success of Spinal Tap in 25 years. Yes, Christopher Guest has adopted this improvisational framework to produce some very winning films of his own, but nothing on this level.
I could pick any scene from This is Spinal Tap for this blog entry, but I’m going with the one that nearly split my jaw with laughter when I saw the film 20 years ago for the first time. There’s a thought… seeing Spinal Tap for the first time. I’d love to be able to relive that experience.
I don’t know what it is about “these go to eleven” that makes it so dangerously hilarious. I suppose it’s all about performance… the flawless acting jobs of both Reiner and Guest. Every word, every hesitation is just perfect. This is the kind of stuff that never gets acknowledged during awards season. But that’s why we have blogs, I guess.
Meet Me In Montauk 
“Go and have a bite, you’ll still be hearing that one.” Pretty much sums up the sustain of this film, and this scene in particular.
“It’s one louder,” and, of course, “these go to 11” are staples in the movie quote library of our lives (but not on that damned movie poster Clay saw, I’m assuming). So thank you for giving Reiner his due. You offer several reasons for why future Christoper Guest films, while “winning,” don’t quite reach the level of Spinal Tap. You forgot the most obvious one, however. None of them were directed by Rob Reiner. Say what you will about the clunkers he’s made, nobody has better directed an ensemble group of comic actors to such consistently superb results (Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, and The Princess Bride serving as the prime examples of his expertise).
Oh, and lets give the appropriate shout out to the costume designer. Nigel’s shirt = utter brilliance.
I feel that scene was totally out of character for Nigel and a false moment in the film:)
I agree this film is brilliant, though I’m not sure i would say that nobody has come close in 25 years. I still feel Defending Your Life is a standout comedy (and, of course, imminently quotable). Same with Honeymoon in Vegas. Tropic Thunder may well enter the league–though it needs some distance to be secure in that way. Borat was also a great comedy in recent years.
Anyway–it would be great to see Reiner move away from the sentimental shmaltz and make another great comedy!
I just laughed out loud, we’ve been saying “these go to eleven for years”, but I havent’ seen this scene in a long time. Thanks for sharing it.