{"id":31976,"date":"2025-09-10T19:49:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T02:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31976"},"modified":"2025-09-10T19:49:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T02:49:35","slug":"spinal-tap-ii-the-end-continues-still-hits-a-few-amusing-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31976","title":{"rendered":"SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES Still Hits a Few Amusing Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 83 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Bleecker Street Media opens exclusively\nat cinemas on Friday, September 12th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 1984, the comedy This Is Spinal Tap<\/em>\nbrilliantly satirized rock music and touring bands. The mock-documentary, which\neven featured a few situations loosely based on real legends, followed the ups\nand mostly hilarious downs of a band promoting their latest record. It stands\nas one of the best comedies of its era. And although it took some time to find\nits following, the movie became a massive success on video and repertory\nscreenings.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, the original was lightning in a bottle and such\nan iconic film simply can\u2019t be equaled. The characters in Spinal Tap II: The\nEnd Continues<\/em> are considerably older and, as such, are less prone to\ngetting into the same kind of outrageous situations as they were in the\noriginal. But even though these rockers are a little slower, there are several\nnostalgic chuckles and a few new laughs as they reunite once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Documentarian Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner, who directed both\nfilms) and his crew set out to catch up with hard rock band Spinal Tap after a\nlong absence. In fact, it has been 15 years since all three members have been\nin the same room together. Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) owns a small UK\nbusiness that awkwardly combines two very different products, David St. Hubbins\n(Michael McKeon) lives in the US and writes\/performs music for smaller clients,\nwhile Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) is curator of an eccentric museum. The trio\nhave been at odds for some time, but are forced to reunite when Hope Faith\n(Kerry Godliman), the daughter of their late manager, explains that they are\ncontractually obligated to perform one more concert together. She hires\nprofit-obsessed, brusque promoter Simon (Chris Addison) to help as the group\nrehearse and work through their differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film takes a bit of time filling in viewers on what has\nhappened to several characters (some bits are amusing, but not all are\nnecessary), before honing in on the three leads and their lives today. As it so\nhappens, Hubbins is holding a deep grudge towards Tufnel, resulting in an\nundercurrent of awkwardness between the two men. It leads to some entertaining\nbanter, as, rather than deal with the issue directly, they critique and get on\neach other\u2019s nerves over the course of rehearsals. There\u2019s a big artist cameo\nduring one of these bits involving a superstar who gets in the middle of an\nargument, that results in hilarious tension between all pirates and one of the\nfilm\u2019s memorable moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When there is tension in and around the group, the movie is\nat its strongest. Much of the funniest material involves interactions with the\nslimy promoter Simon, who suggests ways to draw attention to the show and the\nband. Some of the blunt ideas bandied about include asking if a member or two\ncould die on stage. There is also a very funny bit in which various corporate\ntie-in product ideas are suggested. The tension between the group and this\ncharacter, who doesn\u2019t care about anything but a quick buck, earns plenty of\nlaughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, a few of the jokes and references will already\nbe familiar to fans and won\u2019t feel particularly fresh. But like any reunion\ntour, the film can\u2019t help but have its characters spend a bit too long\nrevisiting their most famous tunes (and even a couple of notable efforts from\ntheir 1992 album, Break Like the Wind<\/em>). At least part of the final act,\nwhen the band attempts to stage a live performance of \u201cStonehenge\u201d without\nincident, is an entertaining sequence. And there are a couple of notable new tracks,\nlike \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Urn,\u201d that do make an impression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, there isn\u2019t as much comedic tension or stakes\nin this follow-up, and while there are a few topical jabs here and there, the\nfilm doesn\u2019t try to sharply send up the excesses and extravagances of the\nmodern music business (other than shady music promoters). But, if you enjoy the\ncharacters and are longing to see the creators of \u201cBig Bottom\u201d and \u201cHell Hole\u201d\nperform on stage again, there are enough laughs here to make Spinal Tap II:\nThe End Continues<\/em> a worthwhile endeavor. It isn\u2019t a comedy classic like the\noriginal, but it is a good time. And, like in the original, be sure to stay\nthrough the end credits for some extra yuks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 83 minutes This feature from Bleecker Street Media opens exclusively at cinemas on Friday, September 12th. Back in 1984, the comedy This Is Spinal Tap brilliantly satirized rock music and touring bands. The mock-documentary, which even featured a few situations loosely based on real legends, followed the ups and mostly hilarious downs of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[216,2264,2976,4294,4371,4660,8918,11608,13809,14127,14425,14432,17125,18857,18858,18859,18860,18861,18862],"class_list":["post-31976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-216","tag-band","tag-bleecker-street-media","tag-chris-addison","tag-christopher-guest","tag-comedy","tag-harry-shearer","tag-kerry-godliman","tag-michael-mckeon","tag-mockumentary","tag-music","tag-musicians","tag-rob-reiner","tag-spinal-tap","tag-spinal-tap-ii-the-end-continues","tag-spinal-tap-ii-the-end-continues-film-review","tag-spinal-tap-ii-the-end-continues-movie-review","tag-spinal-tap-ii-the-end-continues-review","tag-spinal-tap-the-end-continues-reviews"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}