Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review

SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES: 

SPINAL TAP’S OUTRAGEOUS AND ROCKING REUNION! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

BLEECKER STREET FILMS

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

 

            The fictional heavy metal rock band, Spinal Tap makes their long overdue comeback in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the long awaited follow-up to the 1984 rock mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. What can be said about the original Spinal Tap that hasn’t been said already? It’s a comedy classic that’s incredibly quotable and an early examples of a film showing the world of music and rock n roll from a humorous point of view. 

You can definitely see the impact that film had as it inspired other rock-themed comedies like Detroit Rock Cityand Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny and much of its iconic lines are still being quoted today. Now over 40 years later, we have a sequel with Christopher Guest (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration), Michael McKean (The Big Picture, A Mighty Wind, Better Call Saul), and Harry Shearer (The Simpsons, Wayne’s World 2, For Your Consideration) reprising their roles as Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins, and Derek Smalls and Rob Reiner (Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men) returning to direct. 

            I was interested in the sequel when it was announced, the first movie is hilarious and 2025 has been the year for beloved comedy comebacks such as the case with the Happy Gilmore sequel and the new Naked Gun recently. While I can’t say it lives up to its predecessor, I found Spinal Tap II very funny and a solid way to spend 83 minutes, rocking out and laughing to the British rock band that doesn’t actually exist. 

            The film is set 41 years after the first and follows documentarian, Marty DiBergi (Reiner) creating another documentary video chronicling the reunion and final show of the legendary rock band, Spinal Tap. Nigel, David, and Derek have long since gone their separate ways with Nigel now running a combination cheese and guitar shop, David is a composer for a true crime podcast, and for some bizarre reason, Derek runs a glue museum. 

            But Marty gets the band back together along with a new drummer, Didi Crockett (Valerie Franco in her feature film debut) and new keyboard player, Caucasian Jeff (Played by film composer, C.J. Vanston who worked with Guest on various projects; replacing the late David Kaff from the first) with the help of Hope Faith (Kerry Goodliman-Mascots, We Live in Time), the daughter of their original manager, Ian Faith (Who was played by the late Tony Hendra in the first film) and promoter, Simon Howler (Chris Addison-The Thick of It, Lab Rats, The Hustle) to hopefully recapture the “Magic” that Spinal Tap once had and go out with a bang in a truly epic final performance. What could possibly go wrong? 

             The film also stars Fran Drescher (The Big Picture, The Nanny, Hotel Transylvania franchise) reprising her role as Bobbi Flekman, Paul Shaffer (Late Night/Show with David Letterman, Scrooged, Hercules) reprising his role as Artie Fufkin, and Kathreen Khavari (Avengers Assemble, Mascots, Transformers: EarthSpark) as Yasmine Farangi; and features appearances by Paul McCartney, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Questlove, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, and Elton John. 

            Overall, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues probably won’t become a new comedy classic like its predecessor, but those looking for laughs, rock, and/or a nostalgic reunion with some old friends need not be disappointed. Granted, there isn’t much of a story this time as it’s mostly a collection of scenes involving the band members interacting with people, showing off their equipment, getting into wacky shenanigans, and sometimes getting at each other’s throats in very comedic ways. 

            In that way, the first movie is stronger from a storytelling perspective because while it can feel episodic at times, there was still an overarching plot tying everything together. This one focuses more on the laughs than the story which you could say cheapens it, but Guest, McKean, and Shearer have such great comedic chemistry and are so incredibly funny to listen to that I don’t care. 

            Despite them being much older than they were in 1984, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer still got it when it comes to delivering laughs and rocking out (Sometimes simultaneously). A lot of the film’s fun is listening to their banter and hearing them say funny things with one of the best bits being when their promoter asks them what their legacy should be and how they should be remembered if one of them was to accidentally get killed onstage which somehow made a genuinely tragic thing to happen in the music industry hilarious. 

            To an extent, I do agree with YouTuber and critic, Dan Murrell about some of the best jokes being from the end credits outtakes and would have liked seeing those actually in the film instead because they made me laugh hard. The movie also kind of pulls an Aqua Teen Hunger Force and ends abruptly albeit on a very funny note, but I was not expecting the end credits to start rolling immediately after that, a feeling I haven’t felt since the ending of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie from 2007. 

            Despite its shortcomings, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is an enjoyable watch especially if you’re a fan of the first movie. It really just gives audiences more of what they loved about it while still somewhat progressing the story along even if its main focus is on jokes, but it’s still done well and the three actors and Reiner are hilarious. 

            It probably won’t leave you begging for an encore, but you’ll get a cozy, laugh-filled, and rocking 83 minutes out of it. Also, IMAX makes this movie go up to 11 in terms of sound so take advantage of that if you can.