With each passing joke, it contributed to rock's vocabulary...
You might excuse yourself for having overlooked, until last week, Rob Reiner's role as the director of some of the most cherished and significant films of the 1980s. The films themselves are certainly unforgettable. Starting with his debut, *This Is Spinal Tap* in 1984, through *Stand By Me*, *The Princess Bride*, and culminating in *When Harry Met Sally* in 1989, Reiner achieved an incredible streak of memorable classics, all distinctly categorized by genre. Perhaps due to this genre-bending quality, it became easy to forget that a single individual was behind them all.
What united these films was the relatability of their characters and the heartwarming nature of their narratives. They were also humorous, poignant, engaging, and broadly appealing. Above all, they were and still are, profoundly comforting to watch.
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*This Is Spinal Tap* stands out in some ways, as it prominently features Reiner himself portraying the inept director Marti De Bergi, serving as a tribute, among other references, to Scorsese’s *The Last Waltz* (1978). It is widely regarded as the greatest music comedy ever and the film that established an entire genre of spoof documentaries that continues to have a significant impact, but I would argue even more. I would confidently label *This Is Spinal Tap* as the finest film ever made about music.
This is because Reiner, alongside Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, managed to produce something that transcended mere parody, capturing the essence of the human connections and vulnerabilities inherent in music creation, or indeed, any collaborative creative process. This is illustrated by the efforts they made to construct the band’s folklore, with the cast mastering all the instruments and authentically performing the songs (which they co-wrote with Reiner). The meticulous attention to detailing the band's journey through the 1960s British Invasion, evolving into hard rock relics via lackluster psychedelia, is beautifully depicted in the archival footage. Furthermore, the film's authenticity shines through its production style – Reiner filmed it on grainy 16mm and used improvised dialogue to effectively convey the conversational tone, appearance, and atmosphere of music documentaries from that era.
You don't need to have been inside the unique experience of a tour van to appreciate the perfectly rendered squalor and absurdity that the characters consistently deliver, nor to grasp that the kind of stunted growth it represents is entirely reflective of real life.
It may seem unusual that it was left to comedic actors and their director – rather than "genuine" musicians – to reveal this reality to the audience, yet that is the case, and it still rings true today. Moreover, it remains incredibly funny.
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Related: Swan Song – Spinal Tap’s Derek Smalls
Words: Neil Brogan
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You could be excused for having overlooked, until last week, Rob Reiner's role as director of some of the most cherished and iconic films of