Watching This Is Spinal Tap again, I was struck by how much better Michael McKean was than the other members of the troupe. The other guys are funny, too, but Christopher Guest was trying so hard for dimness he ended up being thickly impassive, although he does look an awful lot like Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow. Harry Shearer didn't have all that much to do, and he struggled for consistency with his British accent, an odd failing for someone who makes his living doing voiceover work.
But David St. Hubbins, he was the real deal. He's not bright, but there's enough going on behind his eyes that you can see how he could have created a modestly successful, third-tier rock band. He is so strikingly alive that you think he's doing a note-perfect imitation of some minor star, but I can't think who it could possibly be. It's just David St. Hubbins. All those years of working with Squiggy really paid off.
Ed Begley Jr., of course, was grand as well, albeit in a nonspeaking part.
6 comments:
You are gonna love-love-love this:
Many years ago, as I was doing my best to explore the intersection between pop culture and evangelical Christianity [said intersection often being the site of fatal wrecks], I picked up a book about the evils of rock & roll.
The author quoted "rocker David St. Hubbins," as if DSH were a real person, and not just an actor played by Christopher Guest! I laughed, but also shook my head in pity.
That was in the late 1980s. Now I just laugh.
Somehow I am not surprised. After all, DSH was the brains of the group, such as they were.
But I think you mean played by Michael McKean.
Of course that's what I meant!
*blush blush must watch again it's been too long*
Aren't we being just a little unfair about Christopher Guest's performance? (And by "we," as always, I mean "you.")
I call 'em like I see 'em. It's not so much that Guest was bad, but that McKean was so much better.
Okay, now you're just being obstinate.
Post a Comment