For decades now, rock stars have come up to Rob Reiner to share their feelings about This Is Spinal Tap. “Sting once told me, ‘I watched this movie many times. Every time I watch it, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,’” the director recalled in 2022. Indeed, among the many wonderful things about that 1984 comedy classic is how painfully, brutally accurate it remains in its skewering of rock ‘n’ roll ego and excess. You don’t have to take our word for it — just ask the musicians who cringe at seeing their lives mocked up there on the screen.
Inspired by The Last Waltz, in which Martin Scorsese palled around with the Band during the group’s 1976 farewell concert, This Is Spinal Tap returns to theaters on July 5th in what’s being described as a “remastered, remixed and definitive 4k version.” No matter how many times you’ve seen this endlessly quotable film, it remains fresh and funny, chronicling the increasingly hilarious and humiliating story of Spinal Tap, a once-great U.K. hard rock band who are circling the drain as they embark on a not-heavily-anticipated tour of America. Reiner, playing hack filmmaker Marty Di Bergi, goes on the road with the group — frontman David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) — who bungle their way from one comic misadventure to the next. Heavily improvised and shot to resemble the self-serious rock documentaries that were popular at the time, This Is Spinal Tap popularized the mockumentary format, which Guest would continue to explore in films like Best in Show for years to come.
In honor of This Is Spinal Tap’s big-screen re-release, I decided to do the impossible: rank the movie’s 50 funniest moments. (Note: I’m only counting scenes from the official film, not the original four-hour workprint.) This required me to rewatch the movie and take copious notes, which was challenging considering I often had to pause the film since I was laughing too hard at one joke and potentially missing another great joke in the process.
Don’t Miss
Along the way, I was reminded of so many all-time classic bits — and also a few underrated gems that prove why this film, unlike the lame metal bands This Is Spinal Tap spoofs, never gets old.
Mimes
Yup, that’s Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey playing mime caterers at the launch party for Spinal Tap’s U.S. tour. But the real question is: Was Carvey also possibly going to play one of the band’s ill-fated drummers? That’s now how Michael McKean remembers it.
The Terrible Graceland Sing-Along
Count on Spinal Tap to mess up even the simplest things, including standing at the grave of Elvis Presley and solemnly paying their respects. Soon, they’re inexplicably butchering an a cappella version of “Heartbreak Hotel.” Shockingly, we don’t hear the King literally rolling in his grave.
Marty’s Not-Very-Impressive Résumé
Obviously, Spinal Tap are in a creative and commercial tailspin when we meet them, but don’t forget what a failure their documentarian is, too. As the movie opens, Marty proudly declares, “I’m a filmmaker,” before admitting, “I make a lot of commercials. That little dog that chases the covered wagon underneath the sink? That was mine.” By the way, that joke is a reference to this actual ad:
All Hail the Movie’s Dumbest Pun
At one point, the band members try to recall where they were when one of their many drummers died. It was at a jazz-blues festival — or was it a blues-jazz festival? — with a name that’s on the tip of their tongue. Then, they remember: It was… the Isle of Lucy. (If that joke makes no sense, say it out loud. Then get ready to groan.)
Critics Didn’t Dig ‘The Gospel According to Spinal Tap’
An hysterical segment involves Marty reading the band some of the worst reviews their discography has received. For their unlistenable opus The Gospel According to Spinal Tap, one critic wrote, “This pretentious, ponderous collection of religious rock psalms is enough to prompt the question: What day did the Lord create Spinal Tap, and couldn’t He have rested on that day, too?” Even David has to admit that’s a good burn.
The Film’s Other Great Marquee
One of Spinal Tap’s most memorable gags involves a humiliating marquee in which the band discover they’re the opening act for… well, we won’t spoil it. (Don’t worry: That moment will be coming up later in these rankings.) But this Holiday Inn sign is also really funny, albeit not as well-remembered.
Seriously, Spinal Tap Aren’t Racists. Really
Marty asks David and Nigel about Spinal Tap’s predominantly white audience. Does that mean their music is racist? Nonsense, replies David: “We say, ‘Love your brother.’” Then, he corrects himself — “We don’t say it, really” — to which Nigel responds, “We don’t literally mean it. But we’re not racists.”
Ed Begley Jr. in “Gimme Some Money”
In Spinal Tap, we see an archival clip from 1965 when the band, then known as the Thamesmen, perform their hit single “Gimme Some Money.” It’s a spot-on parody of British pop-rock of the era, but what always kills is Begley’s dorky presence as the band’s drummer during that period, Stumpy Pepys, whom David affectionately remembers as a “tall blond geek with glasses.” In just a few seconds, Begley steals the moment.
Death by Gardening
Some musicians die because of their demons, but not Stumpy Pepys, who met his end in the oddest way. According to David, “He died in a bizarre gardening accident some years back.” Which is funny enough before Nigel adds, mournfully, “It was really one of those things. … The authorities said, ‘Best leave it unsolved, really.’”
Nigel Falls and Can’t Get Up During “Hell Hole”
Being a righteous axe-master has its downsides. During the live performance of “Hell Hole,” Nigel lets fly with an epic solo, only to lean so far back that he ends up flat on his back, unable to get up. It finally takes a roadie to help get him back on his feet. My favorite part of the scene? How freaking happy Nigel is when he’s standing again. Yeah! He’s rockin’! Rockin’ is fun!
Spontaneous Combustion
While eulogizing their late drummer Peter James Bond, Nigel informs Marty that the poor guy “exploded on stage,” to which David adds, “Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year — it’s just not really widely reported.” It’s a funny bit but, in case you were wondering, spontaneous combustion is apparently not a thing, no matter how much it comes up in literature (or mockumentaries).
“Sex Farm” Isn’t the Best Choice for a Slow Dance
When the band is reduced to having to perform at an “at-ease” event at an Air Force base, they’re asked to “play a couple slow numbers.” In response, they launch into “Sex Farm,” which isn’t quite the right vibe. (Sample lyrics: “Working on a sex farm / Trying to raise some hard love / Getting out my pitchfork / Poking your hay.”)
Derek’s Pivotal Role in the Band
Harry Shearer is a comedic titan, but he doesn’t have the sheer bulk of all-timer lines in Spinal Tap in comparison to his two co-stars. Still, one of my favorite Derek moments involves him smoking his pipe and getting philosophical about David and Nigel’s sometimes-contentious rapport. “(They’re) two totally distinct types of visionaries, it’s like fire and ice, basically,” he explains to Marty, adding, “I feel my role in the band is to be kind of in the middle of that — kind of like lukewarm water.” What’s great about the line — like so much of This Is Spinal Tap — is that it makes no sense whatsoever.
Big in Japan
This Is Spinal Tap has a happy ending: “Sex Farm” is a surprise smash on the charts in Japan, which has invited them to do a tour. Hooray, the band is saved from irrelevance! But there’s actually a little truth to the joke: Groups like Cheap Trick were much bigger in Japan before they tasted success in the States. In fact, Tom Waits’ 1999 song “Big in Japan” is a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of the has-been/never-were artists who found overseas stardom.
Spinal Tap’s Original Name Was Actually Not That … Original
David and Nigel tell Marty that, before they were Spinal Tap, they performed as the Originals. Unfortunately, there was already a group called the Originals, so the duo had to come up with something else. Naturally, they landed on the New Originals. (Trivia Question: Can you remember the name the original Originals later went with? Yup, the Regulars.)
Spinal Tap’s Aborted Jack the Ripper Musical
When David and Derek are deciding what to do with their lives at the end of their disastrous U.S. tour, they go through a mental checklist of abandoned projects that might be worth revisiting. Which is how we hear about Saucy Jack, a musical that sounds absolutely awful. (“You’re a naughty one, Saucy Jack / You’re a haughty one, Saucy Jack.”)
Marty Will Never Forget His First Tap
Di Bergi recalls going to a New York rock club in the mid-1960s — “the Electric Banana, don’t look for it, it’s not there anymore” — and encountering Spinal Tap. “That night, I heard a band that, for me, redefined the word ‘rock and roll,’” he says. “I remember being knocked out by their exuberance, their raw power — and their punctuality.”
Nigel Doesn’t Understand the Human Body
Christopher Guest’s goofball fields a question from Marty about the striking T-shirt he’s wearing, which is meant to look like a green X-ray of his skeleton. “This is my exact inner structure, done in a T-shirt,” Nigel says proudly. “Exactly medically accurate.” When Marty explains that Nigel is mistaken — your insides aren’t green — Nigel insists, “It is green!” Eventually Nigel realizes his error, looking slightly deflated. “Anyway,” he replies, “this is what I sleep in sometimes.”
RIP, Fred Willard
The comedy legend, who died in 2020 at the age of 86, frequently popped up in Christropher Guest’s mockumentaries. Willard has a small role in Spinal Tap, in which he plays clueless Air Force Lieutenant Bob Hookstratten, but he’s an absolute delight. When this military square buddies up to the band, this is how he enthusiastically tries to relate to them: “Did you ever run into a musical group, works out of Kansas City, call themselves Four Jacks and a Jill? They’ve been at a Ramada Inn there for about 18 months. If you’re ever in Kansas City and you want to hear some good music, you might want to drop by.” God bless you, Fred.
Nigel’s Epic Guitar-and-Violin Solo
During the hard-rock era, it was standard operating procedure at concerts to be forced to watch some long-haired dude deliver a shredding, horribly self-indulgent guitar solo. This Is Spinal Tap pokes fun at the phenomenon by having Guest take the masturbatory trend to hilarious extremes.
Ian Underrates the Boston Music Market
As Spinal Tap’s U.S. tour gets underway, they learn that some of their gigs have been canceled due to lack of interest, including one in Boston. The group’s long-suffering manager Ian (Tony Hendra), either because he’s an idiot or he’s trying to lessen the blow, confidently informs the group, “I wouldn’t worry about it, though — it’s not a big college town.”
The Accents
This Is Spinal Tap spoofs various strains of rock ‘n’ roll but, more specifically, it goes after the British metal masters whose accents, to American ears, make them sound pretentious — despite their music being nothing but base, macho drivel. So when we think about the film’s many comedic moments, let’s not forget that Guest, McKean and Shearer do such a great job with their consistently terrible British accents. So many of the movie’s lines are so funny precisely because they’re delivered by Americans trying to be Brits.
What’s That on Your Lip?
It’s never mentioned, but David and Nigel occasionally have something that looks a lot like herpes on their upper lip. This was part of a running joke that got cut: The members of Tap were all supposed to be sleeping with their opening act’s lead singer. How could you do that to Jeanine, David!?!?
David Gets Cosmic
At the band’s final tour stop, a callous journalist asks David if it’s time for Tap to hang it up. David refuses to entertain such thoughts, and gives the most tortured justification ever for not calling it quits. “I don’t really think that the end can be assessed, uh, as of itself as being the end, because what does the end feel like?,” he replies. “It’s like saying when you try to extrapolate the end of the universe — you say, if the universe is indeed infinite, then what does that mean? How far is all the way? And then if it stops, what’s stoppin’ it — and what’s behind what’s stoppin’ it? So what’s the end, you know, is my question to you.” Oh, David, you’re drowning.
People Getting the Band’s Name Wrong
A nice recurring joke is Spinal Tap having to correct those who botch the name of the group. Bruno Kirby’s limo driver waits for them at the airport with a sign that reads “Spinal Pap.” And Fred Willard’s military man is convinced they’re called “Spinal Tarp.”
The Limo Driver Who Loves Frank Sinatra
This Is Spinal Tap ensures that even the small supporting characters crackle. Take Tommy (Bruno Kirby), the uptight limo driver who picks the band up from the airport. Tommy doesn’t think much of Tap’s music, preferring Frank Sinatra. As he laments to Marty, “When you’ve loved and lost the way Frank has, then you know what life’s about.” (In hindsight, what might be the funniest, truest moment of that scene is when Tommy says of Spinal Tap, “It’s a passing thing … this is a fad.” The filmmakers couldn’t have known how right Tommy was about the fate of this kind of cartoonish hard rock.)
Spinal Tap’s Jazz Odyssey
When Nigel quits the band, Spinal Tap are in a bind: How do they play their songs without their lead guitarist? It’s then that Derek has a brainstorm: “I’ll tell you what we’re gonna have to do: jazz odyssey.” Understandably, David hates the idea but, well, what choice do they have?
Nigel’s Ever-Present Gum
Such an incidental thing, but have you ever noticed Tap’s lead guitarist is chewing gum in just about every scene? The gum is acknowledged once, when David and Nigel are doing an interview with Marty — David points out to his bandmate that he’s got gum stuck to his finger. Nigel explains he might need it later once he finishes his food. Endearingly, David says to Marty, “You can’t take him anywhere.” And, apparently, Nigel can’t go anywhere without his gum.
Tap Channel the Summer of Love
Not only did the filmmakers perfectly ape the sound and attitude of hard rock — they also brilliantly mimicked other musical styles. Take “(Listen to the) Flower People,” which harnesses the lovey-dovey, psychedelic texture of the Sgt. Pepper years. It was always important to the Spinal Tap creative team that their parody songs actually work as real songs — that you could enjoy them away from the context of the movie.
Nigel Comes Up With an Unusual Nickname for His Junk
When Marty talks about Spinal Tap’s music appealing mostly to young men, Nigel suggests that women are fearful of their physical attributes. “They see us on stage with tight trousers,” he explains. “We’ve got, you know, armadillos in our trousers. I mean, it’s really quite frightening.” McKean’s laugh seems genuine — he wasn’t expecting Guest to say that.
Derek’s Cucumber
Here’s a question I’ve always had: If Tap’s bassist had simply not wrapped the cucumber in aluminum foil, wouldn’t he have passed through the metal detector without issue? Also: Why would you need to wrap the cucumber in aluminum foil?
Nigel Freaks Out About the Food
For years, rock fans have lovingly recalled the infamous story of Van Halen requesting no brown M&Ms on their tour rider. Such tales inspired this hilarious Spinal Tap moment in which the band’s temperamental guitarist complains to Ian that the finger food backstage before the concert is all wrong. Why is the bread so small? Why does this olive have something in it, but this one doesn’t?!?! It’s enough to make a guy go mental.
That Brutal Review of “Shark Sandwich”
As a critic, I’ve had to write my fair share of pans. But I’ve never come up with one as succinct as this memorable takedown of Spinal Tap’s forgettable record with the incredibly stupid title.
“It Wasn’t a Glove”
When Ian argues with label rep Bobbi Flekman (Fran Drescher) about the band’s offensive cover for Smell the Glove, she describes it thusly: “You put a greased, naked woman on all fours with a dog collar around her neck and a leash and a man’s arm extended out up to here holding onto the leash and pushing a black glove in her face to sniff it.” Defensively, Ian responds, “Well, you should have seen the cover they wanted to do. It wasn’t a glove, believe me.” Dear god, what could they have possibly wanted to go with first? (Side note: A lot of fans are still wondering if Sabrina Carpenter was paying homage to Tap with the cover of her new album Man’s Best Friend.)
Stupid Cocoons
As a song, “Rock and Roll Creation,” is merely so-so. But it’s the setup for a great bit in which the band members emerge on stage from large plastic cocoons — except Derek, who gets stuck in his. Years later, U2 would experience their own Spinal Tap-like fiasco when they were trapped inside the huge mechanical lemon during the PopMart tour.
Whose Vomit Was It?
One of the grimmer chapters in rock history is the unfortunate tendency of musicians to die from choking on vomit. Spinal Tap ruthlessly skewered the trend when the band notes that one of their many drummers who died, Stumpy Joe, expired that way. The kicker? It was actually someone else’s vomit. But whose? Well, as Nigel explains, that’s where it gets difficult: “You can’t really dust for vomit.”
The Guitar That Can Never Be Played
Nigel is awfully proud of his axes, especially the one he’s never played. Marty makes the mistake of showing interest, provoking some of Nigel’s best lines.
The Black Album
In 1991, Metallica released a self-titled album that, initially, looked entirely black. (If you squinted, though, you could make out the embossed band logo and image of a snake.) Naturally, the record was unofficially dubbed The Black Album. A little more than a decade later, Jay-Z put out an album officially called The Black Album, which was meant to represent his retirement from recording. But back in the early 1980s, Spinal Tap got the ball rolling by unveiling Smell the Glove with a truly all-black cover. Granted, it was Ian and the label’s compromise after the controversial original cover, but David is infuriated. “I think we’re stuck with a very, very stupid and a very dismal-looking album,” he complains. “This is depressing.”
Meanwhile, Nigel tries to stay positive: “It’s so black, it’s like, ‘How much more black could this be?’ And the answer is, ‘None, none more black.’”
For the record, I’ve always thought that an all-black cover sounds pretty badass — and, of course, Spinal Tap later confronted Metallica about ripping off their idea:
“Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight”
You can go years enjoying this immensely stupid, catchy rocker — and its Department of Redundancy Department-worthy title — before you grasp its creepy subtext: “You’re sweet but you’re just four feet / And you still got your baby teeth / You’re too young and I’m too well hung.”
“I Envy Us!”
As David and Derek try to console themselves at the end of the band’s terrible tour, their future absolutely bleak, they dabble in some heavy denial, insisting that the best is yet to come. Sure, Spinal Tap may be over, but they’ve got all this free time now. What a gift! “We’re lucky,” David proclaims. “I mean, people should be envying us.” Which is when Derek chimes in: “I envy us!”
Don’t Talk to David When He’s Heavily Sedated
After his longtime creative partner and best friend Nigel walks out on the group, David takes it all in stride, insisting to Marty that he won’t give it a second thought. The filmmaker expresses shock that David isn’t more broken up by the news. David doesn’t even blink an eye: “Well, I’m sure I’d feel much worse if I weren’t under such heavy sedation. But still in all, I mean, you’ve got to be realistic about this sort of thing.”
Spinal Tap’s Waning Appeal, Explained
No one turns lemons into lemonade better than Ian.
Spinal Tap Open for Puppets
When things get bad for the band near the end of the film, they get really bad. For example: Spinal Tap discover they’re not even the headliners at a puppet show. That hilarious sight gag has become a popular meme whenever a much-hyped event ends up becoming a total fiasco that nobody wants to attend.
“Hello, Cleveland!”
You know the scene: Tap are getting ready to go perform, but they get lost on their way to the stage. What you might not know, however, is that it was a reference to an actual incident that happened to Tom Petty.
Every Single Lyric of “Big Bottom”
I mean, what’s your favorite? “The bigger the cushion / the sweeter the pushin’”? “I saw her on Monday / ‘twas my lucky bun day”? “My love gun’s loaded / and she’s in my sights / Big game’s waiting there / inside her tights”? Our pick: “How could I leave this behind?”
“What’s Wrong With Being Sexy?”
When people get up in arms about “woke” or whatever — acting as if it’s some new plague destroying culture — it’s helpful to point out that This Is Spinal Tap was making fun of the misogyny in metal more than 40 years ago. What really sells this line is how confidently Nigel delivers it, while at the same time trying to be a little flirty. My god, what an amazingly stupid guy.
The Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever
This Spinal Tap line is a classic, of course, but what’s especially great is watching David and Nigel absorb in real time why Duke Fame’s album cover was okay, while Smell the Glove was considered sexist. It’s one of the film’s finest dim-light-bulb moments.
Nigel’s Beautiful Piano Ballad
In a rare sensitive moment, Nigel plays for Marty a lilting song he’s developing. It’s part of a musical trilogy. It’s just simple lines intertwining. And then, Marty asks him what it’s called…
“These Go to 11”
So many of Spinal Tap’s one-liners are endlessly quoted, but perhaps none has become so ubiquitous in the culture. In a terrific sequence, Nigel shows Marty his collection of killer guitars, ending with him bragging about his amplifiers, which have been modified so that the highest volume isn’t the typical 10 — “these go to 11.” For decades now, that line (or some variation on it) has come to signify going ridiculously, knowingly above and beyond in pursuit of ludicrous extremes that, really, aren’t necessary. Everything about the excesses of hard rock and heavy metal is crystalized in that dopey line — not to mention the “more is more” mentality that defines so much of modern life. When we need that extra push off the cliff, this moment always provides a laugh. Not surprisingly, when the filmmakers announced the Spinal Tap sequel, the amplifiers that go 11 were referenced in the teaser trailer. Everybody knows it, everybody loves it.
Stonehenge
If you were going to break down all the epochal moments from This Is Spinal Tap’s best sequence, well, you’d almost have a Top 50 that consisted of everything that happens here. Nigel getting the dimensions of the Stonehenge monument wrong. The look on the band members’ faces when they see that tiny Stonehenge unceremoniously lowered to the stage. The “Stonehenge” song itself, which is a terrific piss take on the dorky mysticism dabbled in by bands like Led Zeppelin. The way Nigel ponderously intones, “Hundreds of years before the dawn of history, lived a strange race of people, the Druids. No one knows who they were… or what they were doing.” David’s anger at Ian for screwing up the monument. (“It’s not your job to be as confused as Nigel is!”)
And, the coup de grâce, after Ian quits the band and everybody is deflated: Derek finally, quietly chiming in to say, “Can I raise a practical question at this point? We gonna do ‘Stonehenge’ tomorrow?” It’s a perfect closing punchline to a perfect sequence in a perfect comedy.
