Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues isn't as awful as sane moviegoers feared. But it still has no business existing.
41 years after the release of the original — still one of the top 5 comedies of all time — the bad boys of heavy metal return, older, not in the least bit wiser, and…tired.
Contractually obliged to play one final concert — seriously? That's what these former geniuses came up with?? — Tap grudgingly reunite. How they've spent their time in the interim is likewise uninspired, though there are a few yuks to be had at Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and his fondness for cheese.
With the exception of Nigel’s excessive pedal setup and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) admitting that his retro studio equipment is just for show, there's little engagement with the modern music industry. There's no low-hanging-fruit commentary on rock’s elder statesmen overstaying their welcome, nor anything about streaming culture, modern touring, or much else that would clue viewers in on the film’s 2025 setting.
Instead, writers/stars Guest, McKean, Harry Shearer (as bassist Derek Smalls), and director Rob Reiner (back as documentarian Marty Di Bergi) are content with rehashing bits from the previous film — occasionally set up by classic footage — and, in another form of self-congratulations, rehearsing the hits while famous people swing by the studio. In turn, the punchlines are sadly few and what minimal laughs that transpire do so primarily from those recycled gags, not new material.
But should that really come as a surprise? Guest hasn't done anything of note since his underrated/underseen HBO limited series Family Tree (2013) and it's been even longer since Reiner directed a good movie (hint: it wasn't in this century). With the recent Happy Gilmore 2 setting an extremely low standard for legacy sequels, Spinal Tap II somehow fails to clear even that meagre bar, making one wish the whole thing hadn't happened.
If the filmmakers’ goal was to steer viewers to the vastly superior original, job well done. But it shouldn't take a depressing 80-ish minute reunion with our comedy heroes to inspire a rewatch.
Grade: D-plus. Rated R. Now playing at Carolina Cinemark and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Bleecker Street)
