Background viewing before This is Spinal Tap

[silenus]

“It’s hard to dust for vomit.”

[hogarth]

My favourite quote:

“We are such fans of your music and all of your records. I’m not speaking of yours personally, but the whole genre of the rock and roll.”

[RitterSport]

Fred Willard is so good in that movie.

[EinsteinsHund]

@Jophiel

I think it’s just a different sort of humor than you enjoy. Or that particular attempt at humor didn’t work for you (if you’ve enjoyed similar films). I was never into hard-metal but most of the jokes and events stand on their own: A dude trapped in an egg pod for the entire concert, the tiny Stonehenge, the Black Album and Smell the Glove issues, the girlfriend wanting them to dress in animal costumes, the puppet show, drummers dying, the Goes to 11 scene… none of these require inner knowledge of hard metal to land, they’re either sight gags or pretty universal in their ridiculousness. I’m sure there’s stuff to enjoy more if you’re “in the know” but think the film sets itself up pretty well regardless.

I still think my favorite scene is when they get lost on their way to the stage and meet the janitor. Twice. That’s universal humor you don’t need a special hard rock knowledge for. But all in all, it helps to know all those clichés and extravaganzas of rock to enjoy the film.

[Llama_Llogophile]

@Jophiel

I think it’s just a different sort of humor than you enjoy. Or that particular attempt at humor didn’t work for you (if you’ve enjoyed similar films). I was never into hard-metal but most of the jokes and events stand on their own: A dude trapped in an egg pod for the entire concert, the tiny Stonehenge, the Black Album and Smell the Glove issues, the girlfriend wanting them to dress in animal costumes, the puppet show, drummers dying, the Goes to 11 scene… none of these require inner knowledge of hard metal to land, they’re either sight gags or pretty universal in their ridiculousness. I’m sure there’s stuff to enjoy more if you’re “in the know” but think the film sets itself up pretty well regardless.

This really puts perspective on things though, doesn’t it?

[Just_Asking_Questions]

@JohnGalt

but it has never clicked for me, despite multiple attempts to view it. I have a hard time understanding the hard-metal rock world so I never understood why it was so popular.

Funny, I feel the same about Guffman and Best In Show. I found them both terrible* in comparison to the genius that is TiST. And I never even bothered with A Mighty Wind. Yet people here in this thread just love them.

To each their own.

Still, I’m glad I saw the My Dinner with Andre action figures scene. That’s right up there with Nigel’s visit to his guitar room.

[silenus]

@Just_Asking_Questions

And I never even bothered with A Mighty Wind.

You really should. To me, it ranks just behind Spinal Tap.

[Gatopescado]

@Just_Asking_Questions

Fun fact: Blue Oyster Cult played Magic Mountain when I lived in LA.

I saw BOC in Vegas in a dilapidated closed movie theater. They still fuckin’ rocked!

[Snarky_Kong]

He absolutely does not need to watch a rock documentary first. Maybe a couple of clips of live shows? I don’t think it relies on a bunch of inside knowledge of the 70s music industry.

[Kent_Clark]

@Tibby

Because of the movie’s buzz, I’ve watched so many (various scene) clips of the film, so many times, I’m sure, patching them together, I’ve watched the movie in it’s entirety a few times over.

Has anyone else done this with TiST…or any other films?

I have never watched Caddyshack from start to finish, although I’m pretty sure I’ve seen enough clips to assemble them into the complete film.