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From: upstill@ucbvax.UUCP (Steve Upstill)
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: This Is Spinal Tap
Message-ID: <475@ucbvax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 1-Apr-84 02:37:03 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.475
Posted: Sun Apr  1 02:37:03 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Mar-84 01:08:43 EST
Organization: U.C. Berkeley
Lines: 21

    Highly recommended, especially for anyone with a passing familiarity
with the rock music scene over the past ten years.
    The movie is a fake documentary on the (barely) fictional heavy-metal
group Spinal Tap (sic).  The "documentary" covers the groups first 
American tour in six years from disaster to disaster.  So much for plot.
    Several ex-National Lampoonies had hand in this one, unsurprisingly
to judge by the result: the humor is largely  based on dead-accurate
parody, with a range and density of detail that is truly astonishing
considering that the film was largely improvised.  They have managed to
wring far more humor than you'd ever think possible out of a single genre
of music and one of film.   I was consistently amused by the characters
and situations and frequently laughing out loud at the gags.
    Watch for the many cameos, including one by David Letterman's Paul
Shaffer.  Try to convince yourself that the three main band members 
aren't really British.  Wonder aloud where Rob Reiner (director, cowriter
and costar) has been hiding all this talent all these years.  Laugh your
ass off.

   	***1/2

Steve Upstill