The cast of 1984’sThis is Spinal Tap reunited at the Tribeca Film Festival for the film’s 35th anniversary.
The event, which took place at New York City‘s Beacon Theatre on Saturday, 27 April, featured a screening of the film, a Q&A with the cast and director Rob Reiner, alongside a special acoustic performance.
The members of Spinal Tap – Christoper Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer – performed favourites like ”Hell Hole”, ”Big Bottom”, “Rainy Day Sun”, ”Clam Caravan”, ”Sex Farm”, with Elvis Costello joining them on stage for “Gimme Some Money”.
This is Spinal Tap sees the trio play the members of a fictional British heavy metal band, with Reiner starring as Marty Di Bergi, a documentary filmmaker who follows them on their American tour. The film serves as a spoof of rock documentaries such as Gimme Shelter, The Song Remains the Same, and The Last Waltz.
During the Q&A portion, Reiner recalled the confused reactions of a Dallas test audience. “People would come up to us and say, ‘Why would you make a movie about a band that nobody ever heard of?’” he said. “’And one that’s so bad?’”
When attempting to explain why the film has remained such a favourite over the decades, he referenced a line from the film itself: “There is a fine line between stupid and clever and, hopefully, we hit it.”
