Right off the bat, let’s get two things out of the way: Is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues funny? Yes, very much so. Is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues as good as the original? No, very much not. But it’s a respectable follow-up, a consistently funny mockumentary, and a nostalgic return for Tap aficionados. That it doesn’t reach the heights of the classic 1984 original seems a foregone outcome rather than something to criticize. However, it’s impossible not to compare the two films.
The sequel reunites Tap members Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), Derek St. Hubbin (Michael McKean), and David Smalls (Harry Shearer) as they gear up for one final reunion show at the behest of their former manager’s daughter, Hope Faith (British comedian Keri Goldiman, stealing the movie right out from under the veteran performers), who has them dead-to-rights over a decades-old contract. As in the original, Marti Di Bergi (director Rob Reiner) is on hand to document the reunion with his documentary crew.
A Sequel to a Genuine Classic
Let’s face it, there are a lot of dubious films from the 1980s which have achieved cult status presumably on the basis that there were less movies coming out then, and so people were more easily impressed. Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap is one of a handful of ‘80s comedies which are as funny as their reputation promises. Reiner’s 1984 original is just as funny and transgressive, perhaps even more so, as it was upon its original release. Let’s not forget, the original was such a convincing mockumentary that some unwitting viewers believed it to be an actual documentary for years after its release.
It’s a letdown, then, that The End Continues offers substantially less verisimilitude. It’s a sequel which has almost nothing in common with the verité style of the original, looking almost identical to any modern, brightly lit studio comedy. That’s not fatal, but it does immediately pierce the veneer of what the filmmakers are aiming for. The staging also hobbles the film a bit, despite the best improvisational efforts of the cast. The plot concerns the trio rehearsing for their reunion show, but this device confines the action to three or four different sets and essentially asks the cast to repeat the same jokes with different punchlines. (In some cases, the film is content to recycle jokes and punchlines wholesale from the original.) It also means we get hardly any of the backstage or after-party encounters with other musicians and hangers-on, which provided some of the sharpest laughs in the first movie.
More a Straight Comedy Than a Mockumentary
One imagines if the film had opened itself up a bit, perhaps had the gang playing a series of dates leading up to the grand finale, it would have offered more opportunities for spoofery. As such, there aren’t as many jabs as one might expect towards the current state of the music industry. A laugh-out-loud gag about a Korean boy-pop group (which isn’t actually Korean but identifies as such) delivered by a music producer (Chris Addison) who admits to having no knowledge of or interest in the industry is about as close as The End Continues comes to lampooning current musical tastes, which was the crux behind the original film. The choice to have the various members of Tap long distanced from the music business, and each other, when the picture begins is clever enough. (Nigel, for example, has opened a cheese and guitar shop.) But in doing that, the picture paints itself into a corner. Wouldn’t it have been funny, for example, for at least one Tap member to cling onto the business, shifting their style along with the last four decades of popular music?
Ultimately, Spinal Tap II is a difficult movie to review. It is hysterically funny in patches, though the middle portion sags more than you’d hope. The new songs are just as good as the ones written for the original, and the cast (both the stars and cameo performers) slip back into their respective roles with such ease you’d think they never stopped playing them. And yet, the shadow of its predecessor hangs long over this sequel. If this were a standalone movie, it would be one of the year’s best. But weighted with the baggage of the original, it might be months or even years before we can see The End Continues in a clear-headed light. The point is this: The End Continues will make you laugh, it’ll make you nostalgic, it may even get you a bit teary near the end; but most of all, it’ll make you want to rewatch This Is Spinal Tap. It may not go all the way up to 11, but it’s definitely a solid seven.
