The irony of a title like Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is not lost on this critic.  I do not mean this in a Catholic sense, though that also works.  The end will come one day, as the Church teaches, for our own lives and apocalyptically speaking.  Instead, what I am referring to is the way in which film franchises drag out their conclusions.  With this one, you are getting a sequel to a forty-year-old film, This is Spinal Tap (1984), though part of a series of mockumentaries created by Christopher Guest and company.  That one was the first of many more, and they have all been quality comedies.  Guest’s usual list of participants, like himself, are all getting old, but it is refreshing to see some of them re-unite for this one.  Will the end continue for them after this feature?  We shall see.  For now, I am delighted to bring you this review of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.

We get a taste of the title rock band bringing you their final concert in New Orleans at the start of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues before the mockumentary’s director, Martin “Marty” DiBergi (Rob Reiner), introduces what the band has been up to for the past forty years.  They had been broken up for the past fifteen years, but Hope Faith (Kerry Godliman), the daughter of their original manager, learns that Spinal Tap’s original contract calls for them to do one more concert.  As such, Marty heads out to interview the members before the performance.  The first stop is Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) who is running a cheese and guitar ship in the north of England with his wife, Moira (Nina Conti).  Next comes David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), the lead singer, who is now working with a mariachi group in southern California.  During the interview, his ex-wife, Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick), is brought up.  This Catholic was pleased to learn that she has become a nun, even if she confused the voice of God with the chorus from “Every Breath You Take” by The Police.  Finally, Marty meets with Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), the bass player, who has opened a glue museum.  Once they are all agreed to reunite, it is time to assemble in New Orleans.  David and Derek are the first ones there, and they seem hesitant when Nigel finally arrives, underscoring the tension between them.  From there, their new promoter, Simon Howler (Chris Addison), begins working out the details.  To give you an idea of the content, Simon’s idea for building anticipation for the event is to have two of the members die.  More realistically, their first task is to choose a drummer, eleven previous ones having actually died.  With that kind of track record, all the celebrity candidates they approach turn them down.  After giving an audition to a number of others, they land on Didi Crockett (Valerie Franco), a drummer who colors her kit as a tribute to the deceased members of the title band.  Her theory is by doing so she can avoid the so-called curse of her predecessors.  Once that is done, they find a keyboard player, the unfortunately named Caucasian Jeff (C. J. Vanston).  With all this comes some more rehearsing, but even a visit from Paul McCartney (as himself) cannot quell the growing frustration David, Derek, and Nigel have with one another.  At the same time, Faith and Simon keep coming up with promotional material.  One of these is selling bottled tap water.  Get it?  They also reveal a new rock n’ roll hall of fame with them in it, unveiling a building that looks like an IHOP and called the International House of Rock.  Later, Simon gets worried that David, Derek, and Nigel do not have legs since they practice sitting down.  Further, they get legendary rock photographer, Henry Diltz (as himself), to take pictures of them, though only copying from his previous work.  Three days before the show, Simon decides that David, Derek, and Nigel need to exercise more, bringing Bob Kitness (John Michael Higgins) to basically jazzercise with them.  Finally, the costumes they are presented with are all bug themed because, supposedly, rock n’ roll means pestilence.  Despite the madness, their music starts to come together. Still, Simon remains a nuisance.  When Elton John (as himself) enters the studio to sing a song with the band, Simon suggests that there is too much piano.  Then, on the eve of the concert, Simon announces that he will not be present for the show because he is going to meet his birth mother.  This is followed shortly thereafter by an argument between David and Nigel, started by Nigel experimenting with the pedals for his guitar instead of playing the song in a normal fashion.  Then it turns into accusations of Nigel having had sex with Jeanine, which is what split the band in the first place.  David goes for a walk around New Orleans, seeing a party of street performers that reminds him of him and Nigel when they were young friends.  Just before they go on stage, David and Nigel make amends.  It helps them to give a rousing performance that appears to have the crowd into it.  It builds to Elton John’s appearance on stage, them singing together a song about Stone Henge.  Unfortunately, this is what ends the concert.  As a prop for the tune, they have suspended above them a large model of one of the ancient monoliths.  It breaks off its moorings and falls on everyone on stage, including an angry Elton John.  We conclude with them all in hospital together, and a few more interviews as the credits roll.

The final interview in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is between Didi and Marty.  He is asking her if she is happy that she seemingly broke the curse when she begins to choke on an apple she is eating.  The last shot is of Marty attempting the Heimlich maneuver on Didi with the screen frozen on their surprised faces.  It is a clever finish for which fans of the original I am sure were waiting.  Amidst the dry humor and the craziness of the rest, there is one little line that summarizes the film and allows for somewhat of a Catholic analysis.  My apologies for not remembering the context, which is unimportant really, but at one point it is said that sometimes waiting for something is better.  One thing that is often beyond our control is timing.  In Acts 1:7, Jesus says, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.”  We can want something badly, but God has different intentions for whatever is that desire.  Sadly, this often makes people rebel against God, forgetting that His wisdom is greater than our own.  Had you asked David, Derek, and Nigel when they were younger if they thought one day their band would be split apart and they would barely speak to one another, they would have thought that nonsense . . . which is silly to say out loud if you are familiar with their previous film.  All the same, God had other plans for their lives.  When faced with such adversity, the best thing to do is offer it up and ask God for comfort.  Getting angry seldom does anyone any good.  The fact that the three musicians had their break up speaks to that fact.

Another fact about Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is that it is short.  It is also fun to see the different cameos throughout the story.  These alone are worth a view.  There needs to be some prudence exercised while watching it.  Some of the language gets inappropriate.  Otherwise, there were a few scenes that had me laughing out loud by myself.