To borrow a phrase from John Cusack’s Rob Gordon (High Fidelity), here are the top five Indie Comedies of All Time, in no particular order.
No. 5 This is Spinal Tap (1984)
The first of many (and universally inferior) mockumentaries, Spinal Tap launched not only a genre, but several careers. Director Rob Reiner went on to such distinguished work as When Harry Met Sally and Stand By Me; while stars Christopher Guest and Michael McKean have cropped up in a slew of subsequent comedies; Harry Shearer has enjoyed a long run voicing several Simpsons characters.
The film follows aging British rockers Spinal Tap on their disastrous tour of the US, and offers a horribly painful and comedic window into their declining popularity, strained relationships, and eventual implosion. ("If I've told them once, I've told them a thousand times, it's Spinal Tap and then puppet show.")
On release, the film received little attention (viewers complained of the camera being “too shaky”), but has since achieved cult status in the home video market. Many musicians, including members of Van Halen and Aerosmith, have described the movie as too real and painful to watch; Tom Waits apparently wept.
Whatever the response, the film remains a must-see classic of indie cinema, and has been honored for preservation by the National Film Registry as something of cultural, historical and aesthetic significance (which is more than can be said for Spinal Tap hits such as “Sex Farm” and “Big Bottom”).
Classic Line: “This one goes to eleven”
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