Film Review: Spinal Tap II - The End Continues

 

I enjoy the original This is Spinal Tap, though I am not a huge devotee as many Gen X people are.  I find it amusing with some solid jokes and a great cast.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues feels the same, but without the spark of the original.  

The story follows the band made up of Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKeon), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer).  Like most bands, they've broken up and gone their separate ways.  But a reunion concert in New Orleans is on the horizon, so they try to put aside their differences to rock out one more time.

And that's it, that's the plot.  It is threadbare, but it doesn't have to re-invent the wheel.  Along the way, the band members encounter complications and humiliations, but nothing too outrageous.

I suppose that's part of the problem with this sequel: it really doesn't have much more to say.  There are a lot of jokes about aging, which are serviceable enough, but the film never digs deep to something insightful nor does it give enough hysterical jokes to make you not care about the theme.  

To be fair, the cast is fantastic.  These are still comedic professionals who use every look and gesture to milk every laugh they can.  But they just look so tired.  I know that is part of the point of the movie and where the majority of the humor comes from, but their faces look like deflated balloons and I constantly wanted them to sit down for fear that they might collapse.  The first film had all the energy that an improvised film like this needs.  But that energy was lacking.

It was nostalgic to hear some of the songs from the first movie.  And there are plenty of fun cameos from people like Paul McCartney and Elton John.  The movie tries to artificially create tension between Nigel and David, but it feels so tacked-on that it doesn't really work.  

The characters reminded me of the Scripture "Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity."  (Ecclesiastes 1:2)  These characters are clinging to a lifestyle whose glory has long faded.  There is a sadness to it, especially in how thinking about what legacy they will leave behind.  I don't think that this was part of the intention of the movie, but I couldn't help but think of the waste in a life found in the characters (not the actors, to be clear).

If you are big fan of the original, it may be for you to see them in action again.  But I am reminded of the wise words of the Kurgan, "I have something to say: it's better to burn out then to fade away!"