SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES (2025)

Let’s get this out into the open first and foremost: I’m not a fan of unnecessary sequels or remakes. That said, feature-length mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) is one of my favourite films. So, when writer-director Rob Reiner decided to make a sequel to his comedy classic, 40 years later, I worried it would be a letdown. So many remakes and long-awaited sequels, from Zoolander 2 (2017) to almost every Disney live-action remake, have been disasters.

From the trailers and clips I saw of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, I feared this would be more of the same. But, as I’d done a retrospective on the original, I thought it only right that I should review the follow-up. And I’m pleased to announce that, for the most part, my fears were unfounded. Though not as funny as the ’84 classic, this mockumentary clearly understands its assignment and gamely steps up to the task. The assignment? To entertain and offer a fun farewell to some much-loved characters.

This sequel, as before, uses improvised dialogue and is shot in a documentary style. It includes Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) interviewing the members of Spinal Tap: David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). We learn that the band split up under mysterious circumstances 15 years ago, but now they’ve been persuaded by Hope Faith (Kerry Godliman), the daughter of their late manager Ian Faith (the late Tony Hendra), to reunite for one final concert in New Orleans.

The jokes are mostly revivals of old gags, which, for this offering, is perfectly fine because, for the most part, they all still work. The dialogue once again sees the cast members improvising to their hearts’ content. And while you can see some of the famous cameos struggling a bit with their ‘yes, and…’ improvisations, the main cast are as brilliant and seamless as ever.

Once again, it’s the dynamic between McKean, Guest, and Shearer, plus some clever new additions, that make this film much funnier than it should have been. I’m glad they kept the main thrust of the story focused firmly on the members of the band. Many belated sequels are so desperate to appeal to a new audience that they force uninteresting younger characters into the tale without giving those newcomers anything interesting to do.

The only significant newcomers here are Godliman, who essentially replaces Tony Hendra, Tap’s latest drummer and Spinal Tap fan girl, Didi Crocket (Valerie Franco), and smarmy producer Simon Hower (Chris Addison), who doesn’t like music.

All of these additions are less cringeworthy than one would expect. Addison, in particular, matches the original cast’s energy as though he were born into this world. Franco, likewise, takes up the mantle of Spinal Tap’s series of ill-fated drummers with pizzazz and a great sense of fun, while Godliman fits in nicely as an inexperienced manager clearly out of her depth.

The one weak spot in the film occurs when it comes to the celebrity cameos. Some, like Elton John and Paul McCartney, are handled well, as the two superstars seem at home with the improv and style of humour. Others, however, are more jarring and less welcome. The truth is, as nice as it is to see Bobbi Fleckman (Fran Drescher) and Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick) again, their cameos add nothing to the plot, and they have nothing new to say. Although Chadwick’s scene is fairly funny, audiences will be disappointed she’s only briefly in this new offering.

The cringiest of cameos, however, don’t come from actors and characters from the previous film, but from celebrities literally phoning in their performances. In the weakest scene from the film, Spinal Tap attempts to find a new drummer for their gig by reaching out to drummers of famous bands. All of whom are reluctant to do the performance as they don’t want to die in bizarre accidents, as all of Spinal Tap’s previous drummers have.

Questlove, drummer for The Roots, Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Lars Ulrich of Metallica all make Zoom appearances. But not only does the Zoom delay make their scenes feel awkward, but it’s also clear that all of them, with the possible exception of Ulrich, are uncomfortable and inexperienced with comedy and improv. Which is to be expected, as it’s not as easy as the greats like Guest, McKean, and Shearer make it look.

The phoned-in celebrity round-up scene is kept mercifully short. Whether that’s thanks to the editor or because Rob Reiner saw the light is unknown. However, it might have been better to remove it altogether. What made This Is Spinal Tap work as a mockumentary is that celebrity cameos were kept to a very bare minimum. When they did appear, they were always necessary to the plot. With this single scene, the new film makes the one blunder that the first offering so artfully avoided. It makes the cameo the joke and relies on celebrity to anchor a scene that is not essential to the thrust of the film. The only thing this moment offers is a joke about the rivalry between Chad Smith and Lars Ulrich, which most in the audience don’t know or care about.

Other than a slight over-reliance on celebrity cameos, this sequel does its job surprisingly well. It offers us a tight and funny storyline that doesn’t outstay its welcome. It revives old jokes (Stonehenge makes a fun return) and gives us some clever new bits (farts are inherently funny). So while it doesn’t tread any new ground, it’s clearly not meant to. It was designed to give us a reunion with a fake band we fell in love with four decades ago and the hilarious characters that inhabit their world.

But if you’re new to Spinal Tap, I beg you not to go into this film cold. You won’t enjoy it that much. Watch the original 1984 film first before giving Spinal Tap II: The End Continues a chance. However if you’ve been a Spinal Tap devotee for years, don’t miss this loving farewell to your favourite made-up hard rock band. This is the ending we didn’t ask for, but it’s the ending we needed.

USA | 2025 | 84 MINUTES | 2.35:1 | COLOUR | ENGLSH

Cast & Crew

director: Rob Reiner.
writers: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer & Rob Reiner.
starring: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Chris Addison, Kerry Godliman, Valerie Franco, CJ Vanston, Fran Drescher, Don Lake, Nina Conti, John Michael Higgins & Griffin Matthews.