A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out (TV Movie 1992) Poster

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7/10
Enjoyable but not worth the effort to find.
TheCooperVane25 September 2000
It was fun to watch Spinal Tap back in action 10 years on, and there was some humor in the (all too infrequent) interviews and bits. But it really isn't worth the effort to buy or put much time into finding this video.

It doesn't feel like a cash-in; the product is not some c****y cop-out. No, the problem lies more in the same range as the problems with watching a Weird Al concert video - the joke just doesn't work if you weren't there in person. It becomes, at best, something that makes you raise a slight grin... whereas in person, the show was probably a blast.
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6/10
SPINAL TAP REUNION - DAMP SQUIB
darren shan1 November 1999
Mildly disappointing "reunion" of the fictional band made famous by the wonderful mockumentary, THIS IS SPINAL TAP. Most of the film consists of concert footage, and though the actors do a more than credible job on-stage, you come away wishing there had been more interviews and gags. Almost all the best songs were featured in the original movie, although there is a wonderfully cynical finale. Not bad, but on a scale of 1 to 11, a very modest 6.
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6/10
They turn the tables on film maker Marty DiBergi, showing up at his 'office' and putting him on film.
magicsinglez23 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The original movie 'This is Spinal Tap', filmed by amateur movie maker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner), is a very funny spoof of a heavy metal band. The actors playing 'Spinal Tap' made up songs for use in the documentary -er 'Rockumentary' -er mockumentary. We see the band at the coliseum - unable to find their way to the stage, or saying, "hello Detroit" when they're in Cleveland, or on stage in the midst of various technical or prop-difficulties. It's very funny. Listed as one of the top cult films of all time I think. I give the original 9 stars.

In the original movie, at times the jokes go too far. When the guitarist repeatedly insists his amp is goes louder, because, "it goes to 11", it's obvious the guitarist couldn't really be that dumb and so it's obvious the he's just an actor repeating a line. When a joke becomes too mean, perhaps, it's not funny anymore, except for nervous/fear laughter. Still, today, radio stations across the dial advertise, "crank it up to 11. . ."

To a certain extent, in hind-site, I think the joke is on the fearful who do laugh 'at' Spinal Tap rather than laughing with them. Their big song in the original mockumentary is 'Big Bottoms' - "Big Bottoms, big bottoms, talk about bum-cakes my girls got'em". And there's the scene where their record label won't print the cover photo for their album 'Smell the Glove' because it's too 'sexist'. I know, to this day, if someone says something to me, like, "Talk to the hand", I'm liable to respond with, "Smell the Glove".

Spinal Tap's actually helped me appreciate metal bands. For example, I'm not a fan of hard or punk rock, or metal bands that mostly have a hard rock sound, tho I am a big metal fan - each song in these mockumentaries seems to spoof a different band/style of metal music, and Spinal Tap are just so harmless and amusing they've helped me appreciate some of these other styles more.

In '25th Anniversary Sell-Out' they continue the joke from the previous movie, pretending to be a real band. Of course, they now know Marty DiBergi, who filmed 'This is Spinal Tap', made fools out of them in the first movie! as witnessed by this extra footage added on after the end of the first movie,

Nigel Tufnel: I think his real last name is DiBergarmo.

David St. Hubbins: No!

Derek Smalls: No, his real last name is DiBergowitz.

Nigel Tufnel: Yeah! DiBergowitz.

David St. Hubbins: No! He's like one of those...

Derek Smalls: Yeah, he is one of those. Check it out: DiBergowitz!

It's pretty funny. For this movie, '25th anniversary sell-out', Spinal Tap operate the cameras themselves. They turn the tables on film maker Marty DiBergi, showing up at his 'office' and putting him on film. Marty's office seems to be a pay phone inside a pub (he's given the phone number of this public phone out as his office number) and he's waiting by the phone fruitlessly for other offers to come in after his movie 'This is Spinal Tap'.

They don't have 'Martyy DiBergi' for this film, so, of course, this film isn't that good! Duh. It's a bit funny but 'The 25th Anniversary Sell-Out' isn't as amusing, or a good as 'This is Spinal Tap'. I like the music tho, so I go ahead and give it an extra star or two.
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Dissapointing! The Gags Don't Work!
GrantCAGE22 July 2001
THIS IS SPINAL TAP is probably the funniest rock mockumentary ever made and also it's one of my favourite movies ever, so naturally I wanted to see this spoofy Tap concert. There is gags between the concert footage with Nigel Tufnel and St. Hubbins discussing their childhood and early musical life in Squatney, London. The sound quality of the actual concert was terrible. Michael McKean's voice was terrible. Very grouchy sound and the gags just didn't work. They obviously were playing off on the funniness of THIS IS SPINAL TAP, but the gags here are very similar to THIS IS.. and also very predictable. If you are a die-hard TAP fan, you'll probably love this, but for me it was a huge dissapointment! 4/10
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4/10
This is NOT Spinal Tap
Turtle-2329 August 2003
Spinal Tap is probably my favorite Comedy of all-time. Needless to say, I was quite excited to see this film. But this just did not deliver. I can't believe it was the same actors doing this.

It was mildly amusing overall, but extremely weak. I would only recommend to Spinal Tap fans who are really bored. (3.7/10 - rounded up to 4/10)
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8/10
Know what to expect
itamarscomix24 May 2005
Those who loved This Is Spinal Tap generally divide into two categories: those who love heavy metal and those who hate it. If you fall into the latter, The Return of Spinal Tap is probably not for you. If, on the other hand, you watched the movie and then went out and bought the soundtrack... it's definitely worth your time. You should know, though, what to expect beforehand. The Return of Spinal Tap is not a satire or a mockumentary like This Is Spinal Tap. It's nothing more and nothing less than Spinal Tap Live. Don't get me wrong: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are still funny as hell; but the brilliant commentaries carry less weight in favor of the music. And why not? The joke could never have been as funny the second time around, so instead, the three just decided to have some fun, returning to their beloved characters and living out the dream of doing a big rock concert in front of a huge crowd. Frankly, the concert segments are much funnier this time around, with the on-stage antics of the three brilliant comedians, as well as winks back to the first movie in segments like 'Rock N' Roll Creation' and 'Stonehenge'. Plus, you get to sing along to all the beloved, cheesy, brilliantly idiotic songs from the first movie, like 'Big Bottom', 'Sex Farm', 'Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight', '(Listen To The) Flower People', 'Hell Hole' and 'All The Way Home'. Also you get a bunch of great new songs like 'Bitch School', 'Break Like The Wind', 'Clam Caravan' and 'Cash On Delivery' with a rare lead vocal performance by Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer - by now, keep in mind, a Simpsons veteran).

Before you watch The Return Of Spinal Tap, you should ask yourself two questions. The first is - do I really love Spinal Tap, or did I like it just for the satire? If you really loved the first movie, you'll love seeing the beloved old characters of Smalls, St. Hubbins and Tuffnel return. The second is - would I enjoy watching a Kiss concert? If you answered both these questions with a positive reply, watch it.
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9/10
Not as great as the original, but it definately is worth seeing
Quinoa198428 May 2001
To say this movie (straight to video it looks like) is as classic and groundbreaking as the original This Is Spinal Tap would be wrong. But still, the film has it's moments of being utterly hilarious and is worth watching through the flaws. It consists of concert footage and songs not yet heard. But it also has backstage and outside footage of the band. That footage is not great outside, but there are some real laugh out loud moments, like when Nigel shows his new invention- a foldable wine glass (but it still needs hinges). Martin Short, Paul Schaffer and Rob Reiner appear in cameos; the songs include Hell Hole, America, Stonehendge and Tonight We're gonna rock it. A-
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10/10
Tap prove their live credentials
jvframe9 May 2005
"The Return Of Spinal Tap" proves that Spinal Tap were indeed a band of superb musicians, excellent vocalists and ultimate showmen. It doesn't matter that they are fictional characters, because what you get here is one of the most powerful sounding and visually impressive rock'n'roll stage shows anyone could ever hope to see.

Sadly when Tap did Australian appearances to promote their "Break Like The Wind" CD, the public and media all thought that they were joking when they said they were planning a world tour and that Australia could be included if demand was high enough. This film is some compensation for all of us who missed out on experiencing Tap live and at their peak.

Filmed with inclusion of state of the art flying cameras and superb visual editing as well as sound production. I've enjoyed many repeat viewings of the LaserDisc over the years - and I'm always blown away. Crank your sound system to eleven and enjoy the ride.
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10/10
Not that bad!
Untamed_Aggression4 February 2001
I feel a little disappointed with the comments here, because I thought the film was brilliant. The songs are as cool as ever, and the new interviews and documentary footage are incredibly funny, easily equaling the original film. Anyone who's seen this will know what I mean when I talk about The Folksmen...

What shocked me though, is that here in the UK, the film has a PG certificate, and yet the band clearly uses the words c**t and f**k! I guess the guys at the BBFC weren't paying much attention...

Overall, I'd give this an 8/10, not quite as good as the original film, but a good laugh.
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10/10
Here she commest that rainy day sun
Motorskallen20 October 2006
Hey! Whatta ---- !! Why doesn't this band appear anymore? This "rockumentary" actually gives a real touch, and not only is it tunes in the name of DreamEvil and Manowar ... this band was actually BEFORE these kind of bands. I really dig "Tonight I'm gonna rock you tonight" and "Rainy day sun", because this band gives a touch of different kind of music genres. The old 60s weed-smokers-and-get-stoned-and-say-hail-to-the-rainbow-music stuff as well as heavy metal.

It's also fun to watch their self ironic stuff, like in the intro when they can't get down on the scene. Or when they get out of the eggs and one dude dressed up as chicken actually appears in one of them. Hilarious! I strongly recommend this film for all beginners of heavy metal. 10 out of 10.

PS! If you're expecting a sequel to the original "This is spinal tap" you'll however get disappointed. This should be watched more like a "serious" concert recorded live.
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9/10
Great memories!
EricSeaberg6 February 2017
I was at this show with several friends at the end of our musical tour through the U.K. We read about the concert on our flight from LAX and got tickets as soon as we landed. Originally scheduled for one night, it sold out so quickly they had to add a 2nd night.

Was great to sing-a-long with "Big Bottoms" and other classic Tap hits. I bought the LaserDisc as soon as it came out in '93 and have enjoyed it several times. It is longer than the current DVD release and so much fun to see my 'seat' in the long shots!

A great follow up to the classic film... if you've not seen the original, watch it first and then settle down for Spinal Tap playing "At Home" in the U.K.
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8/10
The bigger the cushion .....
jamesspiral25 March 2024
Blimey, I worked some dates on this tour, and thought it was a different film. No accidental gardening accidents just fun!

No cucumbers wrapped in foil, but they had a massive sound rig and were hilarious, almost ...almost kinda as hanging and working for Bill Hicks - magical days. Thanks for the date remind.

Don't forget Bad News ( on tour), if you like this.

Love Rob Reiner and his tasty films, they always bring a smile, so I'm even watching When Harry Met Sally for the first time tonight .

When I think of the stage pods I always send upwardly love to Hawkwind's Huw Lloyd- Langton- a dear friend, whose prog influences get an influence in the film.
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