Big Bottom
About 3 or 4 years ago I saw the movie “Spinal Tap” for the first time. This was right before they released their Special Edition DVD, so they played it for a few weeks in select theaters. I heard about this, thought it was the perfect opportunity to see the film and got a group together to see it. I’m glad I got to see it with a crowd because I think it made the experience all that much better.
I can’t tell you how depressed I was after seeing this film.
For those of you who, like myself, have apparently been living in a barrel and know very little about this movie here goes. “Spinal Tap” is a mock documentary, or mockumentary if you will, of a fake English rock band called Spinal Tap. The movie stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner. Spinal Tap is Reiner’s directorial debut. It follows “Tap” from their heights to their absolute lowest point and then their subsequent rise to sorta-prominence again. It’s the funniest movie ever.
The reason why I was so depressed after watching this film for the first time is I instantly realized I would never see a funnier movie. Ever. I’m serious. This movie struck me then, as it does today, as one of the most brilliant pieces of comedy ever. On the surface the comedy seems silly and juvenile, yet it’s far more than simple shtick. Every character in this movie is extremely well realized, which helps suck you in and never lets go. It’s fast paced, original and completely unpredictable. They NEVER go for the obvious joke. It’s sheer brilliance.
The current DVD available has an amazing commentary track by the three stars in character and they catch you up on what they’ve been doing for the last 20 years. It’s as if they’ve made an entirely new film. If you haven’t seen the flick, rent the DVD, watch the movie, then watch it with the commentary track. The DVD is full of amazing content.
About a year ago a friend scored two tickets to see “Tap” at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. She took me and I was blown away by the show. The live presentation of “Stonehenge” was phenomenal. My friend had NEVER seen “Tap” before and found herself lost almost the entire time. Thankfully she watched it a week later, but the show was entirely lost on her.
Now you ask, why do I bring this up today? Well my snarky little monkeys it’s because of this article in the London Times. A big deal’s being made about the first new edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary being offered in ten years so there are articles everywhere which list many of the new words and phrases they’ve included in the tome. In the newest edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary you can find the following entry:
“Spinal Tap” lives forever.
