Written by Sam Clark
Certificate: 15
Running time: 82 minutes
Certificate: 15
As I have been saying so much recently, and I apologize for sounding like a stuck record, 2025 has given us plenty of nostalgia in the form of legacy sequels and resurrections of films we've not seen for many, many years. Your probably asking: what are all of these films coming back after so many decades? You can thank Top Gun: Maverick for that, and to say that it opened a tin of worms would be an understatement. Yes, it was even more successful than anyone could have imagine it would be, but that's not to say everyone should copy it.
Not only are legacy sequels risky, but I firmly believe comedy legacy sequels in a whole other league of fragile and dangerous, namely because it's so hard to get iconic and legendary comedies right decades later (in particular just how much humour changes over time and how it's executed). Flaws aside, Liam Neeson's recent attempt at The Naked Gun maintained that style of humour the originals relished in, a style that we simply don't get anymore and which could have gone spectacularly wrong. Within the genre of spoof are mockumentaries (spoofs made to look like documentaries), which I confess I think are even funnier and which are my personal favourite.
The first Spinal Tap is perhaps the best and funniest mockumentary of all time, and the first time in which anyone had really seen a comedy like this. It was reportedly so effective and convincing that, when it came out, some believed it to be real (the same can also be said for when audiences first saw The Blair Witch Project). Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is the sequel to the 1984 classic. We once again follow the mockumentary filmmaker Mart DiBergi (played by the film's co-writer and director Rob Reiner who also co-wrote and directed the first) as he is back to document the band.
We have Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael Mckean) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), who all return to co-write alongside Reiner. They reunite after fifteen years for one final this time? performance. Despite being a spoof, "Spinal Tap" did release albums and actually perform real life concerts at Glastonbury and Wembley. What has the band been up to after all
Nigel runs a cheese and guitar shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed and plays in a band at the local pub; David composes music for true crime podcasts and creates music for when you are put on hold on the phone (for which he has won awards for); and Derek runs a museum of glue, because why not. All in all, very silly and entirely on brand. They are brought back together when Ian Faith, their manager from the first film, dies and his daughter Hope ends up inheriting the rights to the contract. Per contractual obligation, it says they must perform one last time, and Marty sets out to get them back together.
Two issues stand in their way: none of them have spoken for years and they need a new drummers, the last few of which have all died in mysterious but funny circumstances one sneezing to death, and another choking on somebody else's vomit). So far, so ridiculous, which is how it should be. Revisiting Spinal Tap is the riskiest example since Top Gun: Maverick, not only because of it's legendary status within comedy, but because this is an even longer gap than what Maverick was (Spinal Tap was '84 and Top Gun '86). The main issue with Spinal Tap Il: The End Continues is that it is only as funny as it could have been, and my main question is that if this was going to be the case, why bother? Nor is it as bad as some fear and worries projected it being. These two points sadly prove why is it certain things aren't brought back.
Aside from one very immature flatulence gag in which I did laugh heavily at (and I do not apologize), everything else was just reduced to a chuckle and nothing more. As was the case with The Naked Gun, others in that screening were laughing pretty consistently. Not only can the same be said here, but some of the laughter did seem louder, so there's a silver lining. What this seems to be this time around is a story about nostalgia and growing old, and not necessarily the laugh out loud comedy of before. I'm afraid to say that with a film like Spinal Tap, you need constant belly laughs. And so, we return to that question once again: why have we bothered? I want that original film again and if you can't deliver, leave it alone. Let's not forget that next year we are getting Spaceballs 2 and Scary Movie 6, so place your bets now as to how those will turn out.
2016's Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and The Naked Gun proved that this style of comedy could still work, it's just a shame and disappointingly ironic that the sequel to one of the greatest spoofs of all time (which Popstar takes inspiration from and The Naked Gun shares equally iconic status ) is the one to fall flat.
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