This Is Spinal Tap

(Note: This review refers to the Blu-ray version of the DVD.)

"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever," but Rob Reiner's devastatingly funny mock rockumentary, which effectively launched the mockumentary subgenre, is nothing less than brilliant. The ostensible portrait of a reunion tour offers absurd touring mishaps, screeching songs with sniggeringly sexist lyrics, and dead-on portraits of eternally adolescent rock stars. But the real genius is the mix of documentary direction and improvisational performance. Features the supplements of the earlier MGM DVD release: commentary by Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer in character as Spinal Tap, the documentary featurette "Catching Up With Marty DiBergi" with Reiner, more than an hour of outtakes and deleted scenes, a rare TV appearance from "The Joe Franklin Show," music videos, mock commercials and more. New in this Blu-ray presentation is a bonus DVD with Spinal Tap at Wembley Stadium for the 2007 Live Earth concert, and Nigel Tufnel talking Stonehenge for National Geographic.