Erik Larson

“I’m in a band that constantly is breaking apart and coming back together. But the more we retreat into the music, the nicer things become.”
“Stonehenge.” “Listen to the Flower People.” “Flesh Tuxedo.” “Lick my Love Pump.” These are not just increasingly insane sayings by a madman, but melodic works of genius by a band known as Spın̈al Tap. They were not a real band, but rather a work of fiction.
In 1984, their debut film “This is Spın̈al Tap” was released and people didn’t know what to make of it. It had already been 13 years since Federico Fellini invented the mockumentary genre with his 1971 film “The Clowns,” but it was this film where the idea was popularized to global audiences, directly inspiring both versions of “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”. The story of a fictional band presented as a sort of parody of Martin Scorsese’s 1979 documentary “The Last Waltz” was an interesting and novel concept. It also helps put the director Rob Reiner on the map, who would go on to make such films as “The Princess Bride” (1987), “When Harry Met Sally” (1989), and the Academy Award winning horror film “Misery” (1990).
The two lead singers are David St. Hubbins (played by Michael McKean, star of AMC’s 2015-2022 show “Better Call Saul”) and Nigel Tufnel (played by Christopher Guest, who later directed 2003’s “A Mighty Wind”), and their lead bass player named Derek Smalls (played by “The Simpsons” cast member Harry Shearer). The fictional band occasionally toured and sold out real stadiums until 2009, when the act was briefly retired.
Now 41 years later, the plot once again follows fictional director Marty DiBergi (played by Reiner) who tracks down the members of Spın̈al Tap in their old age. Smalls runs a museum of glue, Tufnell barters with cheese wheels and guitars and Hubbins composes hold music. They are now forced to finish out their manager’s previous contract and perform one last show in New Orleans. They hire a new, non-exploded drummer (for obvious reasons) and get the ball rolling by hiring Didi Crockett (played by Valerie Franco).
The film is quite funny, and fans of the original movie’s sense of humor will find themselves as enraptured and enthralled as when they watched the last one. The music is as good as ever, with “Rockin’ in the Urn” being my personal favorite of the new compositions.
If I had to share one complaint, the overreliance on celebrity cameos may be to the film’s detriment. Did we need to have three famous drummers all called in by Zoom to plead Spın̈al Tap for their lives? At least Paul McCartney and Elton John were good in their scenes.
I think I can be confident in saying that “Spın̈al Tap II: The End Continues” is the funniest movie I’ve seen from all of 2025, and out of respect for the original, I am changing my rating scale for the first time ever, and going all the way up to an 11. My final rating for the film is a rocking 8/11.