Movie Review: ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’

Filmmaker Rob Reiner – sorry, Marty DiBergi – chronicles the legendary Spinal Tap’s reunion concert in this creaky but affectionate fake documentary.

(L to R) Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Christopher Guest in Bleecker Street's 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.

Opening in theaters September 12 is ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,’ directed by Rob Reiner and starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Kerry Godliman, Chris Addison, Elton John, and Paul McCartney.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

RComedy Music

Audience
Score

Release Date: Sep 12, 2025

Run Time: 1 hr 25 min

Budget: $22,600,000

Starring: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer

Initial Thoughts

(L to R) Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer in Bleecker Street's
'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.

More than 40 years ago, Rob Reiner made his feature directorial debut with ‘This is Spinal Tap,’ a faux documentary – or a mockumentary – about the final American tour of an aging, dysfunctional, and generally tacky British heavy metal act called Spinal Tap. Featuring Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer as the three main members of the group, and Reiner himself as filmmaker Marty Di Bergi, who is ‘directing’ the doc, ‘This is Spinal Tap’ not only was a brilliantly funny satire of documentaries but an acidic look at the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle that is required viewing for heavy rockers to this day.

Four decades and many projects later for all involved, the venerable metal squad returns in ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,’ in which the band – due to a contractual glitch – have to reunite for one last show despite not speaking with each other in 15 years. It’s a difficult lift to try and recapture the absurdist magic of the original film, and Reiner and company don’t quite do that. But they manage to pull together a bunch of funny moments and create an affectionate and warm tribute to the ‘band’ that will leave fans smiling.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner in Bleecker Street's 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.

As in the first film, the ‘story’ is only a loose thread on which to string together the various sketches and character bits that paint a portrait of the now elderly group (and their even more elderly wigs). Following the original documentary, Spinal Tap saw a resurgence in their career that they managed to milk for another 25 years – until one day, 15 years ago, lead singer David St. Hubbins (McKean) suddenly stopped talking to guitarist and co-founder Nigel Tufnel (Guest) for reasons unknown to everyone, even Nigel.

David now writes hold music and plays with a mariachi band in Morro Bay, California, while Nigel runs a ‘cheese and guitars’ shop in Northern England and bassist Derek Smalls (Shearer) is the proprietor of a London glue museum. But due to the management contract now held by Hope Faith (Kerry Godliman), daughter of late Spinal Tap manager Ian Faith (the late Tony Hendra), the band is obligated to play one more show. Can they pull it together, and will we find out why David ceased communicating with his elementary school pal Nigel?

The answers are revealed -- and really don’t matter (the latter revelation is especially perfunctory and ill-staged). The real joy of ‘Spinal Tap II’ is seeing these comedians once again don the personas of this permanently addled, perpetually mediocre musical act. There are lots of nods to the original film: for instance, the band can’t find a new drummer – Questlove and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich are among those they approach -- because all are terrified of joining the nearly dozen who have died in the past. Instead of his amps going to 11, Nigel now has a cheese grater hidden in the back of his guitar for a mid-concert snack and an ever-expanding collection of floor pedals.

(L to R) Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer in Bleecker Street's 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.

Their new PR consultant (Fran Drescher’s Bobbi Flekman passes on returning in a brief cameo), an obnoxious blowhard played by Chris Addison, reckons that the best thing would be for one of the members to die onstage during the concert. That bit touches on the film’s underlying idea: when is enough enough? In an era where audiences are taking out second mortgages to go to one ‘farewell’ concert after another from aging rock legends, should these guys know when to stop?

Don’t think too deeply about that, because the film doesn’t. Reiner stages it just like the first one, with ‘candid’ footage of the band’s misadventures cut between interview sessions conducted by the rather clumsy Mr. Di Bergi. It fits pretty seamlessly with the first one stylistically, but the reversals and some – not all – of the jokes seem a bit tired. Still, the ones that land are often still hysterical, and despite what we said above, there’s something fun and comfortable about seeing these lads go at it once again.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner in Bleecker Street's 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.

‘Spinal Tap II’ really belongs to McKean and Guest, with Shearer and Reiner there as steady support along with a boatload of cameos. It’s Guest who is perhaps the most surprising, as the befuddled Nigel displays another side to his personality that finds him yearning to be back in his cheese shop with his wife. McKean’s David still suffers from lead singer disease, most noticeably when Paul McCartney sits in with the band during rehearsals and offers some advice on how to strengthen a song – advice which David does not take kindly to (“He has a toxic personality,” sneers the frontman later about the affable, soft-spoken musical deity).

McCartney seems to enjoy being in on the joke, and there is a moment in that sequence where you can palpably feel McKean, Shearer, and Guest’s amazement that they’re jamming with a Beatle. The same goes for Elton John, who shows up late in the film but also proves a good sport in a twist on one of the first movie’s most famous sequences.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest in 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Photo: Bleecker Street.

We went into ‘Spinal Tap II’ thinking that Reiner, Guest, McKean, and Shearer couldn’t pull it off, and that it would be a flat-footed debacle. That’s hardly the case. As we noted earlier, ‘This is Spinal Tap’ was a sort of lightning-in-a-bottle scenario, and at times ‘Spinal Tap II’ labors too hard to recapture that vibe. But we would also be lying if we said that this rusty but pleasant contraption of a film didn’t tap into our sense of nostalgia more than once – just like the bands it still sends up.

‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’ receives a score of 80 out of 100.

(L to R) Chris Addison, Kerry Godliman, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer in Bleecker Street's 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.

What is the plot of ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’?

Some 40 years after his film ‘This is Spinal Tap’ chronicled a doomed U.S. tour by an over-the-hill British metal band, film director Marty Di Bergi creates another documentary of the band’s reunion and final show.

Who is in the cast of ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’?

Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel
Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins
Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls
Rob Reiner as Marty Di Bergi
Kerry Godliman as Hope Faith
Chris Addison as Simon Howler
Valerie Franco as Didi Crockett
Fran Drescher as Bobbi Flekman
Paul Shaffer as Artie Fufkin
Elton John as himself
Paul McCartney as himself

(L to R) Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean in Bleecker Street's 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'. Credit: Bleecker Street / Kyle Kaplan.