Peter BurrowsSpinal Tap 2: needs more amplitude?
So, I finally caught Spinal Tap 2, and here’s the thing: the original was This Is Spinal Tap — immediate, absurd, raw. The sequel feels more like That Was Spinal Tap. It’s got laughs, it’s got charm, but a lot of it leans on the past rather than pushing the joke somewhere new.
Take the Elton John plot line, in 1984, that would’ve been outrageous. In 2025? It’s been done, redone, and spoofed better elsewhere. Instead of shocking or subverting, it just felt like a box checked.
Don’t get me wrong — I giggled and smiled all the way through. There are plenty of funny beats, but it final act in particular… well, let’s just say the collapsing scenery gag felt a little too on-the-nose. But then there’s a Beatle singing “Cups and Cakes.” Absolute gold. I didn’t know I needed that in my life, but now it might be the standout moment for me.
Ironically, the slickness of modern cameras sometimes worked against the movie. Everything was so sharp that the artifice stood out — costumes looking like costumes, sets looking like sets. The original’s slightly grimy, lived-in feel is hard to fake when you can see every thread on a jacket in 4K.
And honestly… where were the gyrating grannies and boomer bellies? A Tap concert in 2025 should’ve leaned hard into that spectacle of aging fandom. Instead, the crowd felt too clean, too curated. What I wanted was that slow-burn anticipation, the messy joy of seeing Tap shuffle back onstage, and then the glorious release when they kicked into their set.
In the end, Spinal Tap 2 is a fun reunion — full of smiles, nostalgia, and a few gems — but it never quite captures that discordant resonance of the original, more a minor key transposition than an 80’s rock anthem.
