Can Rob Reiner Resurrect 'Spinal Tap' and His Flailing Directing Career?

By Dustin Rowles | Film | November 29, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | Film | November 29, 2023 |

Excluding franchises with multiple films, only a handful of movies launched sequels 20 or more years later, and the results have been decidedly mixed. On one end, Mad Max: Fury Road was so good that it nearly rendered the three original Mad Max movies moot. On the other hand, some people have entirely forgotten that Dumb and Dumber To actually exists (likewise, Coming to America 2).

Top Gun: Maverick was a huge critical and commercial success, while TRON: Legacy didn’t generate a lot of interest in either itself or the original film. Blade Runner 2049 fits somewhere in between: A good movie, but not particularly necessary.

Unfortunately, it’s the two comedies with 20+ year gaps between sequels that fared the worst, which raises some concerns over the Spinal Tap sequel that Rob Reiner announced would begin filming in early 2024 (the shoot was postponed by the strikes). I can see the sequel generating some nostalgic interest from older filmgoers. Still, I’m not sure it can bring in new viewers and generate further interest in the original.

That said, if there were ever a comedy docuseries built for a sequel, it’s Spinal Tap because the fictional band from the movie played by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer has continued to perform concerts over the years. A “Reunion Tour” or a “Final Tour” featuring rock stars that are 40 years older, wiser, achier, and more resentful is well suited to comedy.

According to Rob Reiner, he’s already lined up cameo roles from Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Garth Brooks, among others. Reiner also promised additional surprises during a podcast with Richard Herring to promote Reiner’s JFK podcast.

1984’s Spinal Tap was Reiner’s directorial debut. He’d go on to make several beloved films over the next decade — The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me, and A Few Good Men, — but he hasn’t had a hit since 2007’s The Bucket List and honestly hasn’t made a particularly good film since 1995’s The American President.